VIENNA — Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel said at the July 31 Maries County Commission meeting that the Road Two crew had been picking up trash someone had reported on Maries Road 405. It included multiple pieces of furniture and many Natural Light boxes.

“We have trouble with that same spot there all the time,” he said.

Drewel said it seemed like someone had been saving up the trash for some time before dumping it. He said it could have been two different drops.

County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers suggested putting up a camera near the site. She also asked Drewel if there was any trash that might have included the name of the person who dumped it in the road.

Drewel said at the time he was unsure, but there might be something identifying in the trash. He shared pictures of the trash and suggested publishing them in the newspaper with the headline “Tax money at work.”

Between the labor and equipment, Drewel estimated a cost of about $165 to pick up the trash.

“That’s where the tax money blows right there,” he said.

Also at the meeting, Drewel asked Prosecuting Attorney Tony Skouby about the potential penalties for someone found to dump trash on the roads.

“It’s a misdemeanor, but I could put some teeth to it, especially if it’s not their first rodeo,” Skouby said.

Storms

At the Aug. 3 meeting, Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman asked the other commissioners how much rain had happened near their homes the night before. Drewel said on the eastern side of the county, it ranged between two and four inches because the rain was spotty. Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said he had about 4.5 inches at his home.

“Thirty days ago you couldn’t buy rain,” Drewel said.

Fagre said the Road One crew worked that morning to remove trees from the road. They focused on the area near Highway 42 and Highway 133.

Drewel said areas affected by fallen trees in the Eastern District included Maries Road 407, Maries Road 411, Maries Road 414 and Maries Road 523.

Later in the meeting, a representative from Three Rivers Electric Cooperative called the commission meeting to report that trees were blocking his crew from working on power lines near Maries Road 205 and Maries Road 206. Fagre said he would let the Road One crew know.

Coroner Equipment

Deputy Coroner Amanda Sandbothe came to the July 31 commission meeting to share another quote for emergency equipment such as lights and a siren for one of the coroner’s office vehicles. At a meeting the previous week, the commission met with Sandbothe and Coroner David Martin to discuss the need for emergency equipment for the vehicle.

The commissioners had been hesitant to pay one of the four quoted prices between $4,254.79 and $2,851.60 for the equipment. They asked Sandbothe to ask for at least one more quote and return to the meeting as soon as she received it.

When Sandbothe returned, she shared a quote from Gasconade County Coroner Jeffrey Arnold. The quote included two options for lights and a siren and two options for radios. When combined, the cheapest lights and siren option and the cheapest radio option totaled $2,340, which was the cheapest quote so far.

Sandbothe mentioned that she expected to receive another quote later that day and that she would let the commission know the details when she got it.

At the following meeting on Aug. 3, Sandbothe returned with a $4,806.75 quote from Turn-Key Mobile, Inc.

Stratman asked if Sandbothe had any experience with portable radios and if they work well.

Sandbothe said yes. Another coroner’s office had recommended portable radios because they are easy to take out of one vehicle for use in another vehicle.

Drewel asked if the coroner’s office really needed a radio.

“I’m just not sure how bad we need some of this stuff,” he said.

Drewel also asked if the coroner’s office has had a radio in the past.

Sandbothe said there was a radio at one point, but since it stopped working, the office has relied on using cell phones. Reception is poor in some areas of the county, and radios would be more reliable for communicating while out around the county.

Drewel said there are still places in the county where a radio would not work, “so that’s a draw.” He asked again if the coroner’s office really needed a radio.

Sandbothe said she guessed she would not know until she was out somewhere without cell phone service or a radio.

“I’m sorry I don’t have a direct answer,” she said. “Every situation I go to is different just like every situation the sheriff’s office goes to is different.”

Sandbothe added that she cannot answer all questions about the coroner’s office because she is not the coroner.

Drewel said he would like to arrange a time for Martin and the sheriff’s office leadership to discuss the equipment before authorizing a purchase. The other commissioners agreed.

“Any time is alright with us,” Drewel said. “Monday or Thursday of any week.”

Roof Door

The commission asked Jennifer Gerling, a producer with the county’s insurance agency Wallstreet Group, to visit the courthouse to examine a door on the top floor of the courthouse that exits to the roof. The door is next to the women’s jail. Recently, the county added a deadbolt lock to the inside of the door that requires a key to exit. The reason was to prevent a potential escape by one of the inmates, but the commissioners began to question if locking the door from the inside presented a risk in the case of a fire.

Stratman said after 4 p.m., the whole courthouse is locked. Plus, the inmates stay locked in their cells and would be unable to leave their cells without a jailer using keys to unlock them.

Gerling asked if someone is always on the top floor with a key.

The commissioners said jailers often stay in the basement and monitor the women’s jail on cameras. The floor is accessible by an elevator and a staircase.

Stratman and Gerling went to the third floor to look at the door. When they returned, Gerling said she could see reasons to keep the door locked, such as preventing someone from getting out and sustaining injuries by falling off the roof. Windows in the stairwell could serve as fire exits.

Gerling said she would contact MOPERM to ask some questions and get better guidance for the county on how to handle the door. Until then, she said she could recommend that the door stay locked.

At the next meeting on Aug. 3, Stratman said Gerling had called him to say that the insurance had determined that if there is no fire escape from the roof, then the county can leave the door locked. There is no fire escape from the roof.

Solar Panels

A member of Vesper Energy’s development team called the commission during its Aug. 3 meeting to ask to arrange an in-person meeting sometime this month. She said she is new to the development team and the project manager for the Vichy Solar site.

In May, the commission met with a development director for Vesper Energy and two representatives from the company Azimuth Renewables to discuss the Vichy Solar project. They shared that Vichy Solar is a proposed 200-megawatt solar panel cluster and 200-megawatt battery energy storage system that will deliver energy to the electrical grid via an existing Ameren transmission line. It is located across about 2,000 acres of privately owned land south of Route Z and north of the Rolla National Airport.

Stratman said someone from the company was welcome to come to a future commission meeting.

“We’d like to have updates about how you’re progressing,” he said.