County Crew Making Good Progress On Culvert Jobs
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
Progress is being made on Misplay Road, where a July 20 flash flood complicated the long-awaited box culvert installation.
That event eroded the bank enough to require more engineering for the project.
Presiding Commissioner Randy Ruzicka reported during last Thursday’s commission meeting that he visited the site on Tuesday and was impressed with the road crew’s work on the nearly-completed project.
“Man, are those guys moving,” he said, adding that he is “real happy that’s moving along.”
Scott Schmieder, road and bridge foreman, reported that the walls had been poured and that they would be allowed to cure for several days.
Meanwhile, crews were backfilling on the new culvert on Ditch Road.
Schmieder said they were also putting pipes in on the gravel portion of Mill Creek Road.
He noted that, as fall blossoms, the road crew has “quite a bit going on.”
Schmieder reported that Truck 18, a 2016 Freightliner, had been taken to TAG Truck Center with electrical issues. The estimate for repair is $1,800. Schmieder said other Freightliners had had similar problems.
Meanwhile, the fuel line cracked on the John Deere backhoe. It will be repaired under warranty, but the county must pay travel expenses for the mechanic.
Additionally, the replacement skid steer has been throwing codes. It is still running, however.
PEST CONTROL
Trapper Joe’s Nuisance Wildlife Control was at work on the downtown county buildings this week. The firm was brought in to remove any squirrels, raccoons or other nocturnal visitors that have been getting in the courthouse and other historic county buildings. Trapper Joe’s will then seal off any entryways they think the animals may have used.
UNDERDOWN WORKING
Undertown Trenching, Inc., contacted the commission, saying they would need to go under Clement Road while laying cable along the road.
The county had stopped Underdown in early September for not having a permit. At a meeting with Spectrum personnel and subcontractors that month, Kelley Brownlee, construction supervisor for Underdown, told the commissioners he did not realize the permit was required. He stressed that his firm always follows the rules and leaves things as they were before laying cable.
Since Underdown resumed the job, the commissioners have been pleased, including with the contact Underdown made prior to going under the road.
“They’re being good,” Ruzicka said, calling it “a refreshing change” from some of the other subcontractors Spectrum has hired in the past.
COURTHOUSE DAMAGE TO BE FIXED
Christy Clark, the Ste. Genevieve R-II School District’s resource officer, requested a list of damages and costs from the county, stemming from a recent incident. A juvenile had a temper flare-up following a hearing outside of one of the upstairs courtrooms. He reportedly punched a wall and threw a chair against a wall.
Clark indicated the individual would be held responsible for paying. She suggested that photos should also be taken of the damage.
Holly Viox, courthouse maintenance person, was trying to find a replacement chair for the one damaged.
Notes
• It was reported that Mark Spykerman, an attorney with Gilmore Bell, had sent out a letter pertaining to the Ozora Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district.
• There was no new information on the community center roof. Everyone was waiting on a new consultant brought in by Grayco Roofing Consultants to analyze what can be done about staining on an interior wall, due to condensation.
• The courthouse smoke detector system will be replaced, with work done in-house. The cost is expected to be about $18,000. A quote to have professionals come in and replace the system was more than $43,000. Part of the cost difference is a different brand being selected.
• Shawn Long, library director, will be offering a mental health class. Second District Commissioner Mark Marberry called this “a good idea.”
• A local business owner called the commission, stressing that a local company should be doing the backflow preventer inspections at the community center. Brad Arnold, community center director, said that another local company is doing the inspections. Since the cost is below $6,000, the job does not have to go out for bid.
• Final paperwork was completed for the Off-system Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation (BRO) grant to replace the bridge on Franklin Road on the outskirts of St. Mary. Meanwhile, everything is in the hands of engineers for replacing the Fourth Street bridge, being done through a Federal Land Access Program (FLP) grant the city and county worked together to get.