Monday, June 13, 2011

Town Hall Meeting to be Set Up for Enhanced Enterprise Zone

Economic Developer Charity Austin reported that a town hall meeting will be set up for the proposed Enhanced Enterprise Zone for the county. She said that the EEZ board had been making a lot of progress on the project and that it was a lot less tedious than had first been thought. They had gotten another county's EEZ strategic plan and simplified it to meet the county's needs.

Needed work on Sam Martell's road, County Road 123, was discussed. The road gets gravel until the Special Rock Tax but drifts in the winter, has a lot of water over the road, gets muddy very easily, and is very difficult to get in and out of. In addition, the road is too narrow.

There was a good turnout for the Household Hazardous Waste cleanup day held two Saturdays ago. Commissioners said that it was the same day as Grant City's cleanup day and the timing really helped with getting the town and county cleaned up.

New plat maps for the county have been delivered. They have a historical aspect to them as they have historical photos of the county, current plat maps, and plat maps as they appeared back in 1902 along with some historical information.

Road #155 by Gareth Summa's has water over the road and has a tube problem as well.

County Attorney David Baird has drawn up a brush letter for the county to use in enforcing the brush ordinance.

Roger Robertson, who is hauling the gravel for the county this year, said that if a road hadn't gotten rock that either they hadn't delivered it yet or it did not have sufficient gravel base. Road & Bridge Foreman Jim Fletchall along with commissioners are going to draw up a list of roads that are candidates to qualify for the Special Rock Program. Roads that got CART rock last year for the first time do not automatically qualify for the county's Special Rock program; that is determined by Fletchall along with commissioners. The county does not keep track of private rock that has been delivered. Considerations include traffic, gravel base, and whether the road has been supported in the past with CART funds. Commissioners said the Special Rock Fund was never meant to be the sole means of keeping a road up and that it was still important for landowners to use the CART program and emergency program as well. Some roads can deteriorate in as little as two years if CART rock is not put on them even if it has been for a long time.

More and more people are using county roads to detour the deteriorating lettered roads in the county, including Route AA. Others are using them to detour Safe & Sound Construction. The 100% matching program for Safe & Sound detour roads is still in effect until construction on the relevant bridges is done and the state roads are reopened.

County Clerk Roberta Owens is out of town on the 15th to attend a regional Board of Equalization meeting. Commissioners will be out of town on the 16th to attend the Northwest Regional Commissioners Meeting in Kingston, MO, which is near Hamilton and Polo.

The state has cut the County Assessor's Budget this year which means that the county has to pick up the tab for a lot more of the Assessor's expenses.

The commission went into closed session with Jim Fletchall to discuss personnel issues.

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