VIENNA — Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman said at a commission meeting last week that the commissioners would want to start thinking about Maries County’s transportation priorities.

Each fall, the commission meets with the Meramec Regional Planning Commission to review some of the options before selecting the county’s top five priorities. The priorities then go to the regional Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC), which will discuss priorities from the eight-county region and rank them for presentation to the Missouri Department of Transportation.

Maries County’s top priority last year was to add a left turn lane on southbound Highway 63 at the intersection of Highway 28 at the Rolla National Airport. It received the third-most votes from the TAC last December, which placed it as a “high priority” project for the region.

The TAC voted the Maries County Commission’s fourth-highest priority, safety improvements at the intersection of Highway 63 and Highway 28 West, as a medium-priority project. The commission’s second-highest priority, safety improvements at the intersection of Highway 42 and Route 133, is also a medium-priority project for the region.

The other projects the commission listed as priorities, an extension to the climbing lane on Highway 63 near Route A and the addition of shoulders on Highway 28, were low priorities for the region.

At the commission meeting, Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel said he thinks the Highway 63 and Highway 28 intersection is still the county’s top priority. Stratman agreed.

The commission expects to determine priorities sometime in the next month.

Vacation Hearing

The Sept. 7 meeting began with a hearing to address a petition by Donn James of Vichy requesting that the commission vacate some of the roadway, streets, alleys and easements in Vichy.

James owns Lots 1 through 20 of both Block 14 and Block 15, which includes all of the property on either side of the undeveloped alleyways through the centers of Block 14 and 15. It also includes property on both sides of undeveloped First Street and parts of undeveloped Second Street and East Street.

The commission met with James and his lawyer. Prosecuting Attorney Tony Skouby called into the meeting to let the commission know that James followed the proper procedure by posting in the newspaper. The commission signed the documents to vacate the property.

Storm Damage

Drewel said at the Sept. 5 meeting that some trees were down in the eastern part of the county following storms on Labor Day. He said he had reports of trees down on Maries Road 318, Maries Road 319, Maries Road 408 and Maries Road 526. Later in the meeting, Maries County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Shannon Fannon said there had been reports of trees down on Maries Road 308 and Maries Road 311.

At the Sept. 7 meeting, Stratman asked if the road commissioners had documented cleanup efforts from storms between July 29 and Aug. 14 because Gov. Mike Parson requested a federal disaster declaration for 33 Missouri counties including Maries County.

Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said he and his road crew had been keeping track of damage and expenses from the storms in the western part of the county, which sustained more damage during those storms.

Stratman said the commission had received an invoice from Osage County for maintenance on a section of Maries Road 301 that Osage County maintains. The $3,300 bill covers grading, brush-cutting, ditch-pulling and snow removal on the road

Audit

County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers said the county had received a letter from the Missouri State Auditor’s Office that said beginning with the audits conducted in 2024, the office will no longer allow counties to opt out of the contracted audit process. She said she did not think Maries County had ever opted out, but she wanted to let the commission know.

The letter also said the state’s new standard is to conduct one-year audits unless a county specifically requests a two-year audit.

Third-class counties will continue to receive two financial audits and a performance audit over a two-term period. The State Auditor’s Office can also choose to conduct a performance audit at any time to address concerns.

Maries County’s next audit period is next year.