I attended the August 6, 2026, Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.
All commissioners were present. In the initial review of the last meeting’s minutes, Commissioner Gohagan wanted those meeting minutes amended to reflect that County Engineer Shannon Howe had recommended that Old Shawnee Bend Road be paved. The minutes were amended without objection.
The first agenda item was “Library Board Reappointment – Jaylon Menard.”
Menard’s re-appointment was approved unanimously.
The second agenda item was “Board of Adjustments Board Reappointment – Dave Schlenfort.”
This reappointment was approved unanimously. (An excellent re-appointment because Dave has the good sense to read this blog regularly.)
The third agenda item was “EMA Budget Amendment – $4,300.”
EMA sold a vehicle so this new money would be transferred to their Miscellaneous and Expense budget lines.
The fourth agenda item was “Purchasing Dept. Budget Amendment- $55.30.”
This was a reimbursement from MU Extension.
The fifth agenda item was “Sheriff- Budget Amendment- $1,068.34.”
This was a donation from the Osage Indian Tribe.
The sixth agenda item was “Sheriff – Budget Amendment- $8,931.66.”
This was also a donation from the Osage Indian Tribe. This was used for E911 equipment.
All four budget amendments were approved unanimously by the Commission.
The seventh agenda item was “ESRI Agreement- GIS Technology.”
According to a representative from the County Assessor’s Office, this was a contract for their online GIS mapping service. The contract is for $126,600 annually and it has to be renewed every three years.
The Commission approved this contract unanimously.
The eighth agenda item was “Bid Opening – Sale of Assessor Office Vehicle.”
The county received two bids for the Assessor vehicle. One was for $502.31 and the other was for $575.
The Commission voted unanimously to table the bids so they could be reviewed by the Assessor’s Office.
The ninth agenda item was “Ordinance 08-28-25- Traffic Control Signage on Willow Creek Road.”
This was an ordinance authorizing the stop signs that the Commission had previously voted to install on Willow Creek Road. Presiding Commissioner Skelton questioned whether it was required for the Commission to pass an ordinance for this?
County Attorney Dickman answered that according to statute, an ordinance was not really necessary.
The tenth agenda item was “July 2026 Budget/Revenue Update.”
The County Treasurer informed the Commission that sales tax revenue was up 9% in July and up 4.5% overall for the year.
Presiding Commissioner Skelton observed that the county still retained $6.1 million in reserves in CD’s and that reserve money had not been touched by the Commission.
In Public Comment, Nathan Rinne pointed out that Commission Steve Dougan had used his elected official Facebook page for the 2nd District of Camden County to criticize half of the voters in Camden County. He felt that Dougan’s election-related posts were violations of the Hatch Act. Rinne also asked Dougan if he had paid back Camden County for the $15,000 the county spent to investigate Dougan for sexual harassment.
Dougan asked Rinne if he (Dougan) was found guilty of sexual harassment?
Rinne responded that the investigation stated that it wasn’t even a close call for the retaliation that Dougan had committed.
And that was that.
Among the Dogwoods 