Archive for 2024

The City of Salem is pleased to inform you that late Tuesday, they successfully brought the main well back online with a new pump. The new well pump coming online and the recent use of fire hydrants for a structure fire has temporarily increased turbidity in our water system, with the northeast part of town being the most impacted. The city will be flushing hydrants in the northeast part of town to help remove sediment and reduce turbidity. The water should begin to clear up over the next couple of days. The City of Salem appreciates your patience and understanding as we work to ensure the quality of our water.

The Salem Memorial District Hospital (SMDH) Board of Directors had their regular meeting on Tuesday, July 30th in the Doctor’s Library at the hospital. This was the first official board meeting attended by the hospital’s new CEO Brooke Bollman. During the Administrator’s Report, Ms. Bollman stated the hospital is getting a new vaccine refrigerator for their clinic, and one of the two freezers in the dietary department has been repaired. The hospital received three free on the hospital’s financial situation. The board moved on to the Summary of Operations for the month of June and CFO Kayla Chamberlain provided the updates that shows the overall Inpatient Admissions and Outpatient Registrations for June 2024 are lower than they were for June 2023. Emergency room visits and ambulance runs were also down compared to last year. For the month of June, the clinic experienced a net loss of $6,751.89. The hospital’s net operating revenue for June was near $1.6 million dollars while their total operating expenses were around $1.7 million dollars providing a loss from operations from June of $79,359.46. After taxes, the hospital had an excess of expenses over revenues of $79,202.61. SMDH’s ending cash balance for June as indicated by their cash flow statement was $214,289. The 340B program revenue totaled $24,577 for the month of June. The Chief Nursing Officer report was given by Kayla Chamberlain. She said the hospital plans to reimplement the Student Intern Program. The transmission on one of the ambulances went out and that is in the process of being repaired. There are multiple openings for employment within the hospital, to including many nursing positions, Long Term Care Director, and Chief Nursing officer. Board president Dr. Leigh Ann Price, asked for clarification on staffing shortages. It was explained that area hospitals continue raising the amount hospital employees are paid and SMDH remains the lowest paying employer in the area. Ms. Bollman stated they plan to prioritize that issue. In the month of June, the hospital hired six new people, and seven left employment, for various reasons. During the Chief of Staff Report, the board voted and unanimously approved new privileges for physicians: Dr. Natasha Nazari (Telepsychiatry), Dr. Henry Onyeaka (Telepsychiatry), and Dr. Brian Quigley (Telepsychiatry). The QAPI Report was unanimously approved by the board. When the board moved on to Old Business, the strategic planning update was tabled until the first of the year to allow Ms. Bollman time to acclimate herself to the area as well as the hospital’s administration. The tax levy increase discussion was also tabled to a further date. For new business, the hospital board voted and unanimously approved to change their meeting time to the last Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM. A “Conflict of Interest” resolution was unanimously approved without further discussion, and the Public Tax Hearing was set for August 27th at 6:45 PM. The board then moved into closed session.

The Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority (MASBDA) will launch a new program supporting beginning farmers today. The initiative offers tax deductions to farm owners who sell or lease land to qualifying beginning farmers. Farm owners selling land to beginning farmers after August 28, 2023, may qualify for capital gains deductions on their Missouri adjusted gross income. The deduction percentage varies based on the capital gain amount, ranging from 100% for gains up to $2 million to 20% for gains between $5-6 million. For those renting or leasing to beginning farmers, a deduction of up to $25,000 per tax year is available on income received from these arrangements. MASBDA Executive Director Jill Wood stated this program complements their existing Beginning Farmer Loan program. Agriculture Director Chris Chinn emphasized the initiative’s role in supporting farmland transition to the next generation. Farm owners must obtain certification from MASBDA to claim the deduction. For more information or to apply, visit masbda.com or contact MASBDA at 573-751-2129 or masbda@mda.mo.gov.

The Salem Parks & Recreation board held a workshop on Monday, July 29th to discuss ongoing updates on the city swimming pool, and discuss plans for the upcoming 3-5 years. The workshop was live streamed by Alderman Sean Bolderjack to the City of Salem, Missouri YouTube channel. Melissa Dubois provided the updates on the city’s public pool as follows: The pool is being repaired by a subcontractor working through WestPort Pools. (the company that installed the first liner/pool for the city.) As of this week, all the old, and damaged, material has been ripped out, and the company has started installing the new material around small fixtures in the pool. The material being installed will be a new and improved product. The workers are doing their best to “beat the heat”, working in the early hours of the morning and late into the night, so as to avoid working during the hottest part of the day. They do try to be as considerate as possible to the surrounding residential areas, and will cease working if they notice too many neighbors complaining about the noise. The estimated time of completion for the project from start to finish is about a month, as weather allows. The City of Salem Parks and Recs department announced on their FaceBook page that construction on the city pool began on July 15th. Melissa has not yet heard back in regards to whether or not this repair will be covered by insurance, and how much will be covered, if so. Once completed, the pool will need to be filled to capacity to ensure everything is in proper working order. The Parks and Rec board discussed whether or not it would be beneficial to have the pool open to the public, before having to winterize it. It was noted that many of the lifeguards are students that play sports, most of the managers are also teachers working for the district and it is likely that opening the pool to the public could cause a conflict in their schedules. There is also a cost associated with purchasing the necessary chemicals for safe swimming, and stocking the concession stand, that needs to also be considered. Before the board moved on to discussing their plans for the next 3-5 years, Melissa and Alderwoman Kayla Sisco stated there have been reports of people getting stung by wasps, yellow jackets, hornets etc. at the city park. She asked that if anyone notices these insects to please contact the City Administrator’s office and they will work on getting that taken care of. As far as the Parks and Rec’s wish list of executable projects for the next 3-5 years, they are all Capital Improvement plans. Some of the biggest tasks they wish to tackle include: Modifying Al Brown fields to eventually host qualifying tournaments, installing new tennis/pickleball courts, adding additional lights and cameras to combat vandalism at the park and Al Brown fields, planting more shade trees, and developing the Old Fairgrounds property. The board plans to release a survey to the public for input on what the citizens of Salem would like to see happen with the Old Fairgrounds. Board member Luke Heithold also suggested a survey go out to the youth sports coaches for input on what they liked/did not like in regards to that season, and if they would change anything moving forward. He also stated he would like to see more adult programs offered, such as volleyball or softball. Before the workshop adjourned, Board President, Carlos Lopez stated that going forward, Parks and Recs meetings will be held at the Civic theater. Meeting adjourned at 7:00 in the evening.

You are invited to attend the next Salem and Dent County meeting of “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” Monday afternoon, August 5th, at 5:30 in the evening at the Salem Community Center@The Armory! “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” is an international non-profit 501(C).(3) organization that builds, assembles and delivers new beds to children in need, who do not have a bed. The Rolla Chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace is already helping to provide new beds to children in need in our Salem community, and efforts are underway to start a Dent County Chapter. They are looking for volunteers if you are interested! For more information, contact Patti at 703-964-6495. You can also e-mail Patti at patti.mckeown@shpbeds.org.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced last Tuesday $19 million in new grant and loan awards to 32 properties across the country under its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP). These grants and loans will support significant energy efficiency and climate resilience renovations in more than 4,260 homes occupied by low-income individuals, families, and seniors. The awards include $1.5M for properties in Iowa and $1.5M for properties in Missouri. The total funding awarded under this program to more than $773 million, serving 20,752 homes. HUD’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs Ethan Handelman announced this new funding last week Tuesday at a press conference at Plymouth Square Village in Detroit, Michigan.

The Dent County Commissioners met Monday morning at the Dent County Courthouse. The commission said the county would be participating in the “Back to School” sales tax holiday this weekend where people will not pay local, county and state sales taxes on items such as clothing, school supplies, computers, and other items as defined by the statute. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Wes Mobray said grading would be done on Dent County Roads 4080, 5600 and 6020 while brush would be cut on county road 4110. Mobray said a man would also be going to Springfield to get oil for chip and seal repair. District 2 Commissioner Gary Polk said rock would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 2185 and 3020 while only grading would be done on county roads 3040, 3165 and 5225. He also said rock would be added to county roads 3030 and 3160 while brush would be cut on county roads 3250, 3260, 3280 and 5340. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson said a petition has been received from Denver Ellis to allow voters the chance to vote on the issue for taxpayers who may be eligible for a property tax credit if they are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits and are the “owner of record of or have a legal or equitable interest in a homestead” and are liable for real property tax payments on the property. Larson said the county’s legal counsel will verify the petition. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said absentee voting continues through Monday, August 5th at 5:00, and that voters should make sure their personal information is on file in the clerk’s office is up to date. Voters can also contact her office to see where they will be voting in the Primary on Tuesday, August 6th where the polls will be open from 6:00 in the morning until 7:00 in the evening. Her office phone number is 729-4144. Curley said her office in the courthouse will be open Saturday, August 3rd from 8:00 in the morning until noon for absentee voting. Dent County Recorder Cindy Ard spoke to the commission about three instances recently on fraudulent deeds. Ard said property owners out of state who own their property outright with no Deed of Trust have been most vulnerable. She said these attempts were caught in time, but said she will be sending out three to four hundred letters to out-of-state property owners to let them know this occurred.  She is still recommending property owners use a new website where you can sign up to find out if someone is recording a document or changing a recorded document with your name on it. The website is www.deedwatch.com and once signed up, you would receive an e-mail letting you know if a document is recorded with your name on it. There is no charge for this service. Just go to the website, and in the drop-down box, select Dent County, Missouri. In the second box, enter your e-mail that you want the notification to come to. From that point, just follow the simple directions to finish signing up. You could include the name that should be on your deed, or any other form of your name the deed may have been recorded. This service is provided by the Dent County Recorder’s Office to prevent anyone from being scammed out of their property or having someone attached their name to your deed without your knowledge. If you have questions about this service, contact Cindy Ard at the Dent County Recorder’s Office at 573-729-2198. You can also e-mail her at dcrecorder07@gmail.com. The next meeting of the commissioners will be Thursday morning at 9:00 and the meeting is open to the public.

The Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors will hold their regular meeting at 6:00 in the hospital library this evening. After the call to order and roll call the minutes of the June 18th, 21st, 23rd, 25th, and July 10th will be reviewed and approved followed by the Administrator’s Report. The board will hear the summary of operations for the month of June as well as statistics for the month. The board will hear about the 340B program, receive the Chief Nursing Officer report, the QAPI report, and be updated on Human Resources, plus the Chief of Staff Report. In old business the Board will hear a Strategic Planning update and discuss a tax levy increase. In new business, the Board will discuss meeting date and time, Conflict of Interest Resolution, and set the August Public Tax meeting.  The Board may vote to go into closed session. The Salem Memorial Hospital Board of Directors meeting Tuesday night is open to the public. To attend the meeting electronically, contact the hospital administration office at (573) 729-6626, extension 4005.