February 21, 2023 Camden County Commission meeting at 11:00 a.m.

The Gadfly attended the February 21, 2023 Camden County Commission meeting at 11:00 a.m.

All three commissioners were present.

This meeting was held in the conference room of the Commission Building. There were five people present besides the county employees who normally attend.

The first agenda item was Sheriff Bid Opening – 2022/23 New Ford Expedition STX 4×4

There were five sealed bid envelopes, but it turned out that all of them contained the same bid from Sakelaris Ford for $60,070.

(Multiple bids are a definitely a step in the right direction, but it helps if they’re from different bidders!)

Sheriff Helms explained that this vehicle would go to LANEG (Lake Area Narcotics Enforcement Group) who would then reimburse Camden County.

This purchase was approved unanimously by the Commission.

The next agenda item was Real Estate Appraisal/Survey Old Highway 5 in Camdenton.

There were bids from Shoreline Surveying and Miller Companies. Shoreline bid $1750 while Miller Companies bid the project at three levels. The surveying is complicated by the fact that gas line, power line, and other easements will be needed before the property is sold.

I was curious what property this was, but I learned that this was Greg Hasty’s Two Hundred Thousand Dollar Parking Lot out by the Ozark Amphitheater. It should be interesting to see what it actually sells for.

The Commission tabled this item for review by the County Attorney.

The third agenda item was Real Estate Appraisal – Horseshoe Bend Parkway.

No one bid on the right to do an appraisal, so this item was tabled by the Commission.

(I’m not sure appraisals cost enough to make it worthwhile to bid on them. It might be easier to just have a list of county-approved appraisers and select them randomly or on a rotation as needed.)

The last item was the Auditor Update. I assumed this was an update on the forensic audit, but Commissioner Gohagan said that it was an update from the County Auditor on the reconciliation of last year’s numbers. The Auditor still hadn’t completed it, so the county has yet to roll over its budget. The County Auditor is supposed to be ready by this Thursday.

This item was moved to Thursday’s agenda.

Gohagan also said the forensic audit should be completed in March.

And that was that.