Archive for 2023

The Salem Board of Alderman met Tuesday night at the City Hall Council Chambers. After they approved the consent agenda, the board tabled a discussion on a new public comment policy so that questions can be asked of the city attorney in closed session. Finance Director Stacey Houston presented a look at the financials that showed electric consumption is down, but the revenue is up for the first third of the fiscal year by about $130,000 over last year; while water consumption is also down and revenues are about $48,000 less than the same time period last fiscal year. Sewer revenues are up over last year by almost $76,800. Sales taxes received in October were up 8% over last year in all the funds. The starting balance for all funds on October 1st was about 7.9 million dollars and increased to almost 8.1 million dollars by the end of the month. The board discussed a conditional use permit for a motorcycle detail shop at 1509 South Louise Street. This had been denied by the Planning and Zoning Commission first as a detail and mechanic shop, then as a detail shop. Commission member Tabitha Utley said the decision was made due to it being a residential subdivision with a large number of people in the immediate area. There were also some comments from three neighbors who expressed their concerns to Utley. Alderman Kyle Williams and Alderwoman Kala Sisco saw a need for this type of business and felt with the proper restrictions on the conditional use permit, it could be an asset. Alderwoman Duncan did not agree and thought the business would be out of place, hurting the resale value of these homes. After discussion on both sides, the board approved a conditional use permit by a 3-1 vote that would include these restrictions: no more than three vehicles can be at the property location in 24 hours, business hours must fall between 6:00 AM and 9:00 PM, an unlit 4 by 8 foot sign may be placed against the building, no mechanical repairs, oil changes or tire changes will be allowed, the permit will be revoked if the restrictions are violated, the permit is non-transferable and it will be reviewed after one-year. The board heard the first reading of Bill #3579 that would change the Community Services Committee to the Community Involvement Committee, then heard the second reading of Bill #3578 officially changing the names of the streets in the Master’s Industrial Park for recording purposes that was approved by the board. Jeff Medows presented a timeline chart of projects to be done. The downtown sidewalk TAP grant is in the MoDOT review process and should be approved in a couple of weeks. Medows felt bids could be let out for the work in February and any contract awarded will work around the road rally, 4th of July Parade, Summerfest and any other event scheduled. City Administrator Sally Burbridge mentioned that city needs to work with the business owners that have their business affected during the construction. Medows reported comparison data on the water collection system being paid for by a DNR grant is being hampered by all the dry weather as the engineers need wet weather to do comparisons. He said that grant may be able to be extended. The waste water treatment plant work for parts 2A and 2B will be bid out in June or July of 2024, and will need to be finished by 2026. He said the new well and storage tank application to DNR should be made in January with bidding going out in the spring. Medows said the lead service line inventory method has been approved by DNR and the investigation of those lines should be completed by October of 2024. Mayor Greg Parker wanted to remind everyone about the City of Salem and Salem Chamber of Commerce Parade of Lights Saturday night at 5:30 followed by a special Trees and Trains event at the ONCRC. Public Works Director Mark Nash said work continues on the salt building on Center Street. He said he would put together an inventory of equipment that would tell the amount of expected life it has left for budget planning. Nash also said the snow removal equipment has been prepared for any weather change and the mowing of all city properties is completed. Alderwoman Sisco reported on the Finance Committee meeting held and said Sherry Lea has resigned from the committee. She said she plans on running for the East Side alderman position in April. Alderman Williams said the Road Rally group would like to install a ham radio antenna on a water tower and also add wording to signage stating “Home of the 100-Acre Wood Rally.” Williams said he is still working with SMTS on a public transportation system route with the help of the MRPC. He stated he will not be running for re-election in April. The board then went into closed session.

This Friday night at Echo Bluff State Park, they will kick off the holiday season with the annual tree lighting and Salem Chamber Choir performance in the lodge lobby! Come listen to the choir’s heavenly music fill the lodge lobby’s rafters as they perform traditional and international Christmas carols. The choir will perform following the lighting of the tree. There’s a rumor that Santa will make an appearance! Cookies and cocoa will be available. The festivities begin at 7:00 at the Echo Bluff Lodge located at 35244 Echo Bluff Drive in Eminence.

The Salem Memorial Hospital regular board meeting was held last Tuesday evening, November 21st, in the hospital library. In the Administrators Report, Interim CEO Jason Edwards reported that all work papers have been completed and the auditors final report is expected by the end of the month. He also said the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency testing is complete, and the CLIA lab inspection plan of correction has been completed. The Iron County Commissioners met last week to discuss the Doe Run Tax protest. Doe Run wants to devalue their property that would affect the approximately $174,000 that the hospital gets in taxes.  If the latest proposal is not accepted, legal action will proceed. CFO Doug Hoban reported hospital admissions were 80 which included four Swingbed admissions with a total of 202 patient census days. In October, there were 1,541 Outpatient Registrations, 968 Cardiopulmonary Procedures, 6,474 Lab Tests, 1,280 Radiology Procedures, 608 Rehabilitation Treatments, 33 Surgical Procedures, and 213 Home Health Visits. There were 596 Emergency Room visits with 46 patients being admitted. A total of 220 ambulance runs were made with 159 patients being transported. The hospital had expenses over revenue in October of $307,794 with a loss from operations of $309,395. The 340B plan showed revenues over expenses for October of $44,000. The Rural Health Clinic net profit was $18,694.80 but this does not include employee fringe benefits or indirect costs. If these costs were included it would show that the clinic loses money each month. The current Interim Clinic Director and Nurse Manager Director is Tina Pabin. Edwards reported that he is working with the state to get reimbursement for the hospital of up to $1 million to match what the hospital has spent from July 1st to May 31st. Deb Gorman presented a Proposed Revised COVID Policy that removed the mandate that all employees be vaccinated.  She reported that the Medical Staff are all against mandatory vaccinations. After a lengthy discussion by the board, a motion was made and approved to continue to mandate that all employees be vaccinated for the COVID-19 vaccination unless a documented medical or religious exemption was approved. Edwards presented proposed employee health insurance rates for 2024. The current anticipated cost for 2024 was up 35% with the employees portion up 20.6%. The board felt this needs to be bid out to better establish competitive rates.  A motion was made and approved to get more bids by the end of the year. Hoban presented two CD’s that need to be renewed and the board approved renewing them at Town and Country Bank at a rate of 5.42%. They also approved renegotiating the CD’s being held at the Bank of Salem totaling $400,000 with rates under 1% for higher rates. The meeting was then adjourned.

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) shows young hunters ages 6-15 harvested 3,574 deer during Missouri’s late youth portion of the 2023 firearms deer hunting season, November 24th-26th. Of the 3,574 deer harvested, 1,697 were antlered bucks, 361 were button bucks, and 1,516 were does. Top counties for the late youth portion were Texas with 77 deer harvested, Pike with 62, and Callaway and Morgan, each with 61. In our area, Crawford County youth harvested 33 deer, Dent County youth took 46, the Phelps County count was 39, while Reynolds County young hunters took 47 deer and Shannon County’s total deer harvested was 31. For more information on this season’s harvest totals, visit the MDC website.

The Salem Community Center @ the Armory will host a benefit fundraiser and auction to help Michala Pope as she battles a rare and aggressive form of angio sarcoma cancer in her heart. The live auction will begin at 11:00 in the morning on Sunday, December 3rd. Donations will be accepted at the armory on Saturday evening, December 2nd from 6:00 to 7:00, and on Sunday morning, December 3rd, from 9:00 until 10:00. Admission to the fundraiser is a case of water or soda. This “HopeForPope” fundraiser will include lunch at $10 a plate, then a live auction of donated items with auctioneer Tom Wulff and a silent auction of baked goods. T-shirts are for sale for $20 each and a “March for Michala” walk around the city park will begin around 5:30 that evening with glowsticks. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the Pope Family. For more information, call Susie Cahill at 739-1127.

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning for their regular meeting at the Dent County Courthouse. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray stated materials would be added and grading would be done on Dent County Road 2490, while only grading would be done on county roads 5220 and 6400. Mobray also said brush would be cut on county road 2400. District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk reported materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Road 5240, while only grading would be done on county roads 2110 and 2120. Polk said brush would be cut on county roads 3190 and 3220 and the grader blade is being changed on Grader #41. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson said all three commissioners, the county treasurer, the county clerk and county assessor all attended the MAC Conference last week at the Lake of the Ozarks. There were good discussions on the distribution of the opioid settlement as well as on Senate Bill 190 among other topics. Overall, Larson felt the conference was very informative and went very well. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said she balanced with the county treasurer on all accounts for the month of October. She also reported she was elected to the MAC board as the representative of District 16. Curley wanted to remind those candidates who are wanting to run for a position during the Municipal Election in April that you will need to file at the office of the particular political subdivision you wish to be elected beginning December 5th, with filing continuing through December 26th. So if you want to run for the school board, you would file at the school district office; if you want to run for a city office, you would file at the city administration building, etc. Curley also said the 2024 county budget hearing would be January 29th at 10:00 at the courthouse. Tentative 2024 county budgets will be available to the public after 10:00 on January 18th at the county clerk’s office. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams presented the CART money received by the county this month. Williams said the county received $84,769.38 this month and that is up $13,031.46 from the November funds received in 2022 of $71,737.92. Year-to-date, the CART Funds are up $116,986.56 from last year or about a 15.9% increase. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday morning and it will be open to the public.

Preliminary data from the Missouri Department of Conservation shows that deer hunters in Missouri harvested 193,669 deer during the November portion of firearms deer season, November 11th through the 21st. Of the 193,669 deer harvested, 105,614 were antlered bucks, 16,081 were button bucks, and 71,974 were does. Top harvest counties statewide were Franklin with 4,289 deer harvested, Texas with 4,208, and Howell with 3,749. Top counties in our area include Dent County with 2,621 deer harvested, Reynolds County had 2,023 deer taken, Phelps hunters took 1,937 deer, and Iron County saw 1,400 deer taken. This year’s harvest total was 3% lower than last year and 2% higher than the previous five-year average. Deer hunting continues in Missouri with archery deer hunting resuming through January 15th, 2024. The late antlerless portion of firearms deer season will run December 2nd through December 10th in open counties, and the alternative methods portion will occur December 23rd through January 2nd, 2024. Get more information on Missouri deer hunting from MDC’s 2023 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, available where hunting permits are sold and online at mdc.mo.gov.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports four people died in traffic crashes during this year’s Thanksgiving holiday counting period that started Wednesday evening, November 22nd at 6:00 and lasted through 11:59 Sunday night, November 26th. There were no boating crashes or drownings. During the Thanksgiving holiday counting period, troopers reported there were 431 traffic crashes resulting in 138 injuries and 4 fatalities. There were 103 DWI and 10 drug arrests. During the 2022 Thanksgiving holiday counting period, troopers investigated 414 traffic crashes, which included eight fatalities and 115 injuries. Statewide, 9 people died, and 482 people were injured in 1,355 traffic crashes over last year’s Thanksgiving holiday. Troopers arrested 113 people for DWI during the 2022 Thanksgiving holiday counting period.

The Salem Board of Alderman will be meeting tonight at 6:00 at the City Hall Council Chambers. After they approve the consent agenda, the board will discuss a public comment policy at alderman meetings, and hear the financial report from Finance Director Stacey Houston. In old business, the board will discuss the recommendation made by the Planning and Zoning Board to deny a request for a conditional use permit at 1509 South Louise Street. The board will then hear the first reading of Bill #3578 that would change the Community Services Committee to the Community Involvement Committee for the City of Salem. The board will hear the second reading of Bill #3578 officially changing the names of the streets in the Master’s Industrial Park for recording purposes. After the reports from the city officials, the board will go into closed session to discuss personnel and contracts. The meeting tonight is open to the public.