SFC receives ACT award
The County Commission met in its weekly meeting, last Tuesday morning and addressed several items of interest.
County Receives Award
Commissioner David Kater announced that St. Francois County had received an ACT award for work-ready communities. Kater said that 159 employers in St. Francois County participate in the program. Missouri is one of seven initial states in the country to implement the Certified Work Ready Communities Initiative. A Work Ready Community means that the county has job candidates in the pipeline with high-demand skills proven by the National Career Readiness Certificate.
Presentation
Earlier in the meeting, Carey Welsch, of Gov Deals, addressed the Commission on her company’s ability to sell county-owned surplus equipment. The Commission recently approved a proposal to list 37 items of Road and Bridge County property, ranging from pickup trucks and a dump truck to smaller items on the Purple Wave platform. Welsch’s presentation was an attempt to persuade the Commission to use Gov Deals for disposing of surplus machinery. The Commission said that it would consider Gov Deals in the future.
On-call Engineers
Commission Kary Buckley explained, “If we have an emergency, we can just call them directly, where we don’t have to bid this. It’s a process that happens quickly, where we don’t have to wait. MoDOT already screens all of these and makes sure they’re eligible with the state and they’re all certified. What we’re doing is just saying instead of doing our own request for qualifications, we’re utilizing their list, and we can use these engineers.” The engineering companies are Smith and Co. Engineering, Cochran Engineering, and Taylor Engineering. The Commission approved the list for on-call engineers for the county.
Electronic Time Clock Interface
Corey Schrum advised the Commission, “We are at that stage with Time Clock Plus where we need to have Tyler-approved services. It’s called Time Clock Interface.” The cost for this will be a $2,000 annual fee and a $830 start up charge. It was pointed out that this update would bring about a reduction in the county’s Tyler’s Technologies quarterly invoice. The update was approved.
Road signage and New Position
Road and Bridge Administrator Brian Long had received a “lengthy letter” from a resident who resides on Loughborough Rd. citing an increase in the flow of traffic and the speed of traffic traveling the roadway. Long said that he drove it and recognized problems and that increased development over the years has increased the traffic flow. He also mentioned a recent tragic accident where a young motorcyclist lost their life in a head-on collision.
Long suggested that a 35-mile-per-hour speed limit be posted on Loughborough Rd. near Russell Rd. to the intersection with B highway, a distance of approximately 6 miles. The motion was made and approved.
Presiding Commissioner Harold Gallaher stated, “We want to create a position of part-time supervisor for the Road and Bridge.” This will be a part-time position of approximately 25 hours a week with no benefits. The job will work fewer than 1,000 hours in a year. It would be a part-time position in lieu of hiring a second full-time assistant. Approved.
Surplus equipment
Among the surplus items in the Sheriff’s department are 20 docking stations, a device that hold the computer in the squad car. “We went to a different style” advised Buck Copland. The docking stations are found in the older vehicles that are no longer used by the department. Ther were also several light bars which were described as outdated. Approval was given to dispose of the equipment.
Copland then turned his attention to surplus vehicles. There are two Crown Victorias and 2 Explorers. Approval to post the vehicles for sale was given.
Grant application
Approval was given to apply for a FY26 solid waste grant, which would be to dispose of old tires for Road and Bridge. The grant would be $5,000 and cover disposing of tires picked up over the course of the year.
Nick Jones Appointment
Presiding Commissioner Gallaher announced that Nick Jones, County IT Specialist, has been appointed to the Advisory Committee of the Emergency Management Directors. This committee works with the state to find ways to better serve the Emergency network.
Sheriff’s Report
In a brief report, the sheriff stated that the jail population stood at 148 for the past week with 124 males and 24 females. There were 476 calls for the week, an increase of 59 over the previous week, bringing the total number of calls to 15,836 for the year.
Road and Bridge
The recent rain has likely pushed back the opening of the Berry Rd. bridge. Brian Long informed the Commission, “The rain really set us back.” Long estimates that the bridge opening may be pushed back, “I’m still hopeful (for the Oct. 7 completion). I’ve seen things happen a lot of the time and they pull together pretty quick. We’ll see how things develop.” Long also spoke about building a cab cover for the county bucket truck. Gallaher explained, “You don’t want him dropping chunks of wood on top of your cab. This is protection for the cab.”
