March 23, 2023 Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.

I attended the March 23, 2023 Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.

All commissioners were present.

This meeting was held in the Commission Building conference room. There were about ten people present besides the Camden County employees who normally attend.

The first two agenda items, the Lake Area Community Development Corporation and the SB40 Board, were removed from the agenda because representatives from those organizations weren’t present at the meeting.

The third agenda item was a Request for Surplus Tax Sale Money.

This was approved unanimously.

The fourth agenda item was Osage Beach Cemetery Quit-Claim Deed Acceptance.

County Attorney Green explained that some of the gravesites extend off the cemetery property onto an adjacent property. The adjacent property owner would like to cede that portion of their property to the cemetery. Investigation revealed that Camden County owns the cemetery.

The Commission agreed to accept the Quit Deed unanimously.

The fifth agenda item was Camden County Business District (CCBD) Board.

The two district commissioners enthusiastically appointed Presiding Commissioner Ike Skelton to a seat on the CCBD Board.

That was the end of the agenda, but Commissioner Gohagan brought up an issue in Old Business.

Before they began to move back into the Courthouse, the Commission decided to use Triangle Environmental to test the building. Recent wipe tests of the interior of the building discovered quantities of lead as high as 200 micrograms of lead per square foot. 10 micrograms per square foot is considered an acceptable amount. A lot of this lead may have been from dust created by the demolition of wall surfaces that contained lead-based paint.

Commissioner Skelton stated that this lead contamination will delay the move back into the courthouse for at least a month. He also felt that the expense for cleaning up the lead dust should be the responsibility of Veregy, the construction contractor.

Commissioner Skelton was asked if the Commission Building had been checked for lead and asbestos also? He responded that it had not been checked.

I suddenly became aware that I was holding my breath. Don’t inhale, Gadfly! Just like in college!

There are currently no county employees working in the courthouse. As soon as the Commission learned about the lead results, they pulled out the movers and the carpet crews that were contracted by the county. Camden County will not move into the courthouse until the issue is remediated.

Commissioner Skelton also mentioned other issues he has observed with the construction. The most significant (besides the lead) is that no expansion joints were installed between the poured concrete surfaces and the foundation of the building. The Commission will continue to negotiate with Veregy to address and correct these issues.

And that was that.