TAC says “pipe dream” for Highway 63 realignment at current funding level

Presidential Primary will cost about $20,000

By Laura Schiermeier, Staff Writer
Posted 2/26/20

VIENNA — Maries County Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman last week said there is a new grassroots group that wants the state to move forward in making the planned improvements to Highway …

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TAC says “pipe dream” for Highway 63 realignment at current funding level

Presidential Primary will cost about $20,000

Posted

VIENNA — Maries County Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman last week said there is a new grassroots group that wants the state to move forward in making the planned improvements to Highway 63. It’s called the Highway 63 Coalition and its purpose is to work toward a four-lane Highway 63 from Highway 50 to Arkansas. He said there is a meeting planned in Houston on March 20 at 10 a.m. and Stratman said he plans to attend. Stratman said it is a long-range thing.

There is little doubt something needs to be done with Highway 63 as it is a busy highway with a lot of traffic and has been labeled the most dangerous highway in Missouri. Stratman said MRPC’s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) members say it’s a pipe dream to think MoDOT is going to spend $250 million to realign Highway 63 at MoDOT’s current funding level. That price tag almost certainly has gone up, maybe even doubled, since it was first calculated. And, in recent years in the state’s anti-tax climate, Missouri voters have yet to support any gas tax increase to support MoDOT and better Missouri roads and bridges.

A realignment of Highway 63 would bypass Westphalia, Freeburg and Vienna and there are still many residents and business owners who are against this. The realignment is four lanes of roadway. Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said four lanes would require additional bridges, too.

Stratman said what TAC wants to do is make seven upgrades of five to eight mile sections of Highway 63, making improvements and adding passing lanes. “This is more realistic,” he said. From the 50/63 Junction to the Phelps County line, seven areas of concern that need improvement have been identified. It is estimated the project will cost about $4 to 6 million per site.

MoDOT’s Meramec Area Engineer Preston Kramer, said he plans to attend the meeting as well. “Coalitions are a good thing, but any group that wants improvements to Route 63 needs to also bring proposals for how these improvements would be funded. Current funding is not sufficient for any significant improvements to Route 63 beyond and modest improvements we have been working on.”

Presidential primary

County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers reported the March 10 Presidential Primary printing costs for the ballots, precinct supplies, checking machines and programing the machines through Elkins-Swyers will cost about $8,000. She will receive $14,000 from the state, which is based on the cost of this election four years ago. There will be other expenses such as poll rent, poll worker pay, overtime, canvassing and other expenses. Rodgers told the commissioners she hopes she has enough money as she thinks the election will cost at least $20,000. This is a lot of money to spend on an election that has no meaning and is a waste of time. There still will be a caucus by the political parties. 

Absentee balloting for the Presidential Primary currently is in progress. Contact the county clerk’s office to vote absentee.

Feral Hog Debate

The commissioners attended the County Commissioners Association meeting in Columbia three days last week. They had access to a lot of information and vendors. Fagre said he gets more out of visiting and comparing notes with commissioners from other counties as they can discuss different ways of handling the same problems and situations. He noticed the associate commissioners get phone calls and they usually will be talking about roads.

Stratman said he liked the feral hog discussion with representatives from Missouri Department of Conservation, saying it was entertaining. Fagre said the feral hogs are tearing up the land. Stratman said the conservation department is supposed to hire more people to catch the wild, feral hogs. They said at Stockton Lake the feral hogs have been eradicated.

The contentious area of concern is the national forest where there is no cell phone service, which is needed to control and monitor the hog traps. The large traps are baited with corn and are triggered electronically and a camera records the images. The cameras are monitored.  The conservation representatives said they spend time locating the hogs, placing and baiting the traps and if someone comes through and runs the feral hogs out, those efforts were a waste of time.

The department charges to hunt and kill them. The landowners just want them off of their property as they eat agricultural crops, root up pastures and have been known to kill young animals.

INCREASE

Treasurer Rhonda Slone reported Vienna License Office January receipts at $14,665.70. The state legislature increased by fees effective in the fall of 2019 and this has led to more revenue. Maries County operates the license office, which seems to get busier every year. Slone said with the fee increase the office “may do more than break even.”

Defibrillator

Stratman reported the defibrillator for the courthouse has arrived. The Maries-Osage Ambulance District (MOAD) is giving it to the county and he was told staffers from MOAD will check it about once a month. The defibrillator needs to be calibrated. It comes with batteries and pads that the county will have to replace in the future if the defibrillator is used. The question is where will they put it in the courthouse. Ideally, it probably should go somewhere on the first floor because of the higher number of people who come to the courthouse with business on the first floor. MOAD will do training on the defibrillator for courthouse employees who want to learn how to use it.

Don’t bring any more

The commissioners were informed a big supply of water softener salt was dumped into the courthouse water softener and the bill is $90 from Echo Water. They previously had decided to purchase this product locally and at a lower price than they were getting through Echo Water. Stratman called them and asked them not to bring it any more.

Another thing

Stratman said Governor Parson spoke to the commissioners at their annual conference in Columbia. Gov. Parson is a former county sheriff and he told the commissioners his budget contains $22 million to pay counties for the jail board it owes them for housing and feeding state prisoners. The state owes over $30 million to counties. The governor told them whether the senators and representatives will go for it “is another thing.” The funding was taken away last year.

Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman said his jail is owed about $30,000 in unpaid jail board bills.

Concrete and silica sand

Ken Stratman spoke with the commissioners briefly, saying he poured a sample area in the long hallway in the sheriff’s department downstairs and thinks the product he used will work well to patch the floor. The product is Duo-Patch and its made of concrete and silica sand. He put glue down first, and the product adhered to the concrete. He will have to chisel off the top layer currently on the floor, which ranges in depth from a half-inch to nearly nothing, which he said is because it was feathered out to make a level surface. In the areas where the surface is coming loose, he will make grooves so it will adhere. Once done it will take about 24 hours to dry and they’ll have to stay off of it. Fagre said that’s where they work and it’s a busy hallway. After it dries the carpet squares will be put back on.

He bid the project at $3,129 to do the entire hallway, which the commissioners estimated to be 6 ft wide and about 40 ft. long.

Panic buttons

The commissioners were asked to decide whether or not to pay $1,000 for a two-year warranty to Secure Tech for the panic buttons, batteries, transmitter and repeater. They asked IT-man Shane Sweno his opinion and if he can monitor it. Sweno came to the meeting and said it’s a pretty basic system and he thinks the warranty from Secure Tech is “pricey.” He agreed to take care of any problems with the system.