Commissioners, Fair Board Getting Fairgrounds Ready
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send your username and password to you.
By MARK EVANS
STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD
Ste. Genevieve County commissioners sent a certified letter to Tim Robbs, spokesman for Chestnut Acres subdivision residents wanting the county to take over maintenance of their roads.
The letter informed them that a petition they had delivered to the county did not meet Missouri Revised Statute 228.220 and was therefore being rejected.
They discussed sending an email to let Robbs know the registered letter was coming.
Residents have said the developer who built the subdivision told them the county would later take over care of the roads.
The county, however, has its hands full with the roads it already has, and has specific standards roads must meet before it can consider taking the over. This includes proper base, a minimum 18-foot width for dead end roads and 20 feet for through roads, plus adequate drainage ditching. The Chestnut Acres roads have been improved, but still fail to meet the standards.
EARTHQUAKE SEMINAR POINTS OUT ISSUES
After attending an earthquake preparedness seminar, the commissioners expressed concern about the scope of disaster a large quake on the New Madrid Fault would do today.
Experts agree the fault is likely to have another big quake at some time in the future. How big and when are less clear.
Jeff Briggs made the presentation they attended and he made an impact. The worst of the legendary December 1811-January 1812 New Madrid Earthquakes have been estimated to have been about 7.5. A quake that magnitude or bigger today would put much of eastern Missouri “in the stone age,” in Second District Commissioner Mark Marberry’s words. Water would be cut off in most places, electricity, internet, and cell phone reception would be lost and most bridges would be knocked out.
Marberry stressed that we need to begin preparing for such an event.
“We, as a community have to deal with some things,” he said.
ROAD WORK CONTINUES
Scott Schmieder, road and bridge foreman was busy with paving project and did not attend the meeting. He left notes, though.
Crews were doing chip and seal paving on Westover, McDaniel and Avon Court that week, and expected to have them finished.
Meanwhile, they were touching up bad spots on the gravel Boyd Road and were putting down some rock by Crown Farms.
C.C ROOF IS INSPECTED
Presiding Commissioner Randy Ruzicka was unable to attend the meeting. When Marberry left for a 10 a.m. appointment to monitor the final inspection of the community center roof, the commission ceased to have a quorum to conduct business.
Bade Roofing and Firestone, supplier of the roofing material, were taking part in the inspection.
Meanwhile, stains on the interior walls that had appeared following the roof work were being cleaned.
911 BOARD HOLDS MEETING
First District Karen Stuppy reported that the new 911 tax board had met that week. The board was in favor of accepting a letter from the commissioners, offering to continue paying the county’s share of dispatch costs until infrastructure upgrades are completed.
The revenue generated by the new 3/8 of 1% sales tax will go to the more than $3 needed to upgrade equipment infrastructure. Once that is up to par, the estimated $600,000 a year in revenue will be used to fund the dispatch services.
They are also working to get responsibilities shifted from the county to the board itself.
Notes
• Jim Baker, former site administrator of the Felix Valle State Historic Site, will be allowed to look over historic land records in the Recorder of Deeds’ vault for research on a project honoring Pelagie Amoureux. Recorder Mary Jane White will be present while he is examining them.
• Stuppy gave a detailed report of that week’s Community Service Forum meeting.
• The commissioners were still awaiting some documentation from Trapper Joe’s Nuisance Wildlife Control, who will be removing wildlife from three county buildings.
• Chris Roth of Magnolia Hollow Road reminded the commissioners that residents of the road raised 22% of the cost (some $40,000) to get part of the road paved in 2007.
He said it is deteriorating and needs attention. The commissioners said they would look at it when they take a trip to consider 2024 paving and repair priorities.