July 23, 2026, Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.

I attended the July 23, 2026, Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.

All commissioners were present.

The first agenda item was “Final Public Hearing to reduce the speed limit on Mimosa Beach Drive.”

Nobody was present for or against this reduction.

The Commission unanimously passed an ordinance to reduce the speed limit to 15 MPH.

The second agenda item was “Final Public Hearing to add a yield sign at the intersection of Little Island Lane and Little Island Drive.”

The same gentleman who has been at every meeting in support of this yield sign was present. Nobody was present to speak against it.

The Commission unanimously passed an ordinance to add the yield sign.

The third agenda item was “Planning & Permitting Printer/Copier Agreements.”

I know that most of you come here to read about the various county printer/copier leasing agreements.

Well, you’re in luck.

The six year lease for the Planning and Zoning printer/copier is coming to an end this month. The county can either turn it in and lease a new one or exercise an option to buy out the lease and purchase the leased copier for $2,876. If they chose to purchase it, they would subscribe to a maintenance contract from GFI Digital for repairs and toner replacement for $109 per month. Leasing a new printer/copier would cost approximately $400 per month.

Planning and Zoning recommended buying out the lease, purchasing the leased copier/printer, and signing the maintenance contract.

The Commission approved that recommendation unanimously.

The fourth agenda item was “ACH Authorization Form to allow Zelis Payments, LLC to credit and/or debit the county’s bank account for the purpose of processing health plan payment transactions – Mutual Medical.”

Presiding Commissioner Skelton commented that one of their complaints with Mutual Medical (the manager of the county’s health plan) has been an issue with expediency and modern payment technology so this might be a step in the right direction. Mutual Medical would use Zelis Payments to comply with payment regulations, allow immediate access to payment documents, and expedite payment posting and records.

Commissioner Gohagan was in favor of the change if there was no additional cost to the county.

The Commission approved the authorization unanimously.

The final agenda item was “Surplus Funds Request.”

This request was for $168,796.75 which is an extraordinarily large surplus amount for a tax sale property. The Treasurer reviewed it and the County Attorney assured the Commission that he had “triple-checked” it.

The Commission approved the surplus request unanimously.

In Old Business, Presiding Commissioner Skelton explained that $4 million had been set aside in the state budget to expand the capacity of the intersection of Highway 54 and Highway 5, but Governor Kehoe put those funds on the restricted list. The Commission previously voted to enter into a cost-sharing agreement with MODOT and the City of Camdenton to fund that project. The city is responsible for $1,119,408 and the Commission agreed to contribute half of that amount. The county will reimburse the city five days before the Highway Commission advertises for bids on the project.

The county portion will come from the TCLA funds.

The Commission unanimously signed the ordinance approving this projected payment.

Three residents from Old Shawnee Bend Road were present to speak to the Commission about severe drainage and flooding issues in their neighborhood. Most of the other roads around their gravel road are paved. Heavy flooding has been running through their properties and washing gravel downhill, piling it into their cove. The gravel accumulation in the lake was so great that Ameren granted them a permit to remove 35 dump trucks of gravel from the lake.

They have invested tens of thousands of dollars into rip-rap and other mitigation measures. They have attempted to recruit their neighbors to fund the asphalt cost to pave their road and develop a drainage plan. Unfortunately, only three neighbors have agreed to contribute so far and those three have pledged a total of $21,000 for the asphalt material. The rest of the residents on the street appear to be waiting to see if the cost of paving the road will be paid without their participation.

In particular, there is some concern that the cul-de-sac portion at the bottom of the road might actually be a private road. The resident who owns that property does not want to pay for paving and is not willing to give any easements to the county for drainage construction by the county.

In the past, the neighbors were told by a Road & Bridge grader operator that their road was on a “Request Only” list. According to the operator, this meant the county would only maintain the road if residents called and requested it. Nobody in the Road and Bridge Deaprtment has confirmed that such a list exists.

Presiding Commissioner Skelton reasoned that this might be a location that qualified for the county’s road paving ordinance or even a modification of that ordinance if it offered an opportunity for the county to save money on constant repair costs. The paving and improved drainage might save the county more money in the long run.

Commissioner Dougan suggested that the County Engineer and Road & Bridge should put together a plan to see what it might cost to pave the road.

Commissioner Skelton concurred and proposed that the plan could be reviewed at the Commission meeting in one week.

A review of Camden County’s paving ordinance actually states that as long as two homeowners on a county road are willing to participate and pay for the asphalt materials, their portion of the county road can be paved.

And that was that.