I attended the May 28, 2024, Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.
Commissioners Skelton and Gohagan were present.
As the meeting began, the Commission voted to remove the TIPS Program Resolution from the agenda because it had been discovered that the county was already participating in the program.
The first agenda item was Presentation by MO S&T.
This was a presentation by two representatives from Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri. MO S&T is currently an R2 Research Institution, but their goal is to reach R1 status. They are trying to expand the size of their student body to 12,000 students.
In 2020, Fred Kummer donated $311 million to the university and the school is using that money to fund a wide variety of improvements and programs on campus. These include a “Protoplex” for research and development, a Small Business Development Center, and STEM camps for younger scholars.
The second agenda item was Road and Bridge Bid Openings.
Camden County received a bid for road grooms. The grooms are trailers with carbide teeth that can be pulled along gravel roads to fix the wash boarding problems on the surface. It gets the job done a lot faster than a road grader. The bid would spend $110,288 to purchase three 8.5 foot wide road grooms and two 11 foot wide road grooms. Some of the money used to buy the grooms was saved from cost-saving measures adopted for asphalt in the current budget.
The Commission accepted this bid unanimously.
There were no bids received for heavy truck parts and repairs.
There was one bid received from Girard Concrete for concrete repairs and structures.
The Road and Bridge Administrator mentioned that the crossing at Deans Creek Road had washed out over the weekend. He estimated it would cost the county over $100,000 to replace it. The concrete cost for the bid was in the neighborhood of $550 per yard, but the cost could be cheaper depending on the quantity that was purchased.
The Commission accepted this bid unanimously.
The next bid was for quarry rock from Nemo Quarry.
The bid was a list of prices based on rock type and size.
The Commission voted unanimously to accept it.
The third agenda item was 240523 Juvenile Justice Center Office Furniture- Bid Openings.
There was one bid from Page Office Supply.
The current furniture that they’re using is 27 years old. Apparently, there’s not much of an antique market for old detention center furniture. The new furniture will cost $45,000, but the representative from the JJC said that $30,000 of the money will come from a grant.
The Commission approved this purchase unanimously.
The fourth agenda item was Sheriff- MOU for Security Service- Camdenton R-III Schools.
This is the MOU for the School Resource Officer at the Camdenton schools. The Sheriff’s representative explained that the only change from last year’s MOU is that the deputy’s wages have changed. (The good news is that they’ve gone up!)
The Commission approved and signed the MOU.
The fifth agenda item was Sheriff – Contract with Vector Solutions.
Sergeant Hines told the Commission that the Sheriff’s Office was interested in using the Guardian Tracking system to assist with monitoring the exposure of their employees to critical incidents, tracking good performance on the job, and identifying when an employee might need some extra help or assistance. The cost would be $8,775 for the first year and $7,875 for each year after that.
The Commission voted unanimously to approve the contract with Vector Solutions.
The sixth agenda item was Discuss Drug Treatment Court Budget Amendment.
This budget amendment moved opioid lawsuit funds in the amount of $50,000 to the Drug Court’s Prevention budget line ($12,000) and Miscellaneous budget line ($38,000). The movement of these funds would allow them to be used to purchase software (Prevention) and give the Drug Court more flexibility to move their money (Miscellaneous).
Presiding Commissioner Skelton expressed his hope that the Drug Court would develop a more formal budget structure in the next fiscal year. The County Auditor and the commissioners discussed the fact that once the number of cases processed by the Drug Court meets a certain threshold, the State of Missouri will assume some of the responsibility for funding it.
The final agenda item was Signing of Proper Paperwork for Speed Limit Reduction on West Lake Park.
This ordinance would reduce the speed limit on West Lake Park to 20 MPH. There have been three public meetings held to address this issue.
The Commission approved this ordinance unanimously and signed it.
And that was that.
It was nice to see Steve Dougan in the audience at this meeting. He is running for Commissioner of the Second District and he’s been attending the Commission meetings pretty regularly.
As a reminder, there will be debates hosted next week at the Riverbird Winery at 442 Riverbird Ln, Camdenton, MO. Doors open at 5:00 p.m:
Monday, June 10th Sheriff Debate
Wednesday, June 12th District 2 Commissioner Debate
Wednesday, June 19th District 123 State Rep Debate
It’s your local government. If you don’t participate in it, you shouldn’t complain about it!
Among the Dogwoods 
road grooms would be wonderful on Franklin. We also have so many speeders on franklin would love to lower to 25 but it probably wouldn’t stop the speeders. They are rude and don’t care. Thank you so much for all the time you put into keeping everyone informed.
LikeLike