News – Tuesday, March 4th 2025

At the Dent County Commission meeting Monday morning, Beverly Irons with the 42nd Judicial Circuit Court was in attendance to see what progress the commission had made on the conditions of the “formal demand” written by Judge Megan Seay to make the old courthouse ADA compliant. In the letter, Seay gave the commission 90 days to begin the installation of a chairlift to the courthouse on the second floor, but the commissioners stated that they have not yet been able to find a chairlift that is ADA compliant and that will fit in the stairwell. They are still pursuing this but have come up empty so far. The commissioners have been in touch with elevator companies about installing an elevator, but there will have to be engineers to assess where the elevator could be placed on the exterior of the building that would also provide access to the floors. The logical place would be where the treasurer’s office is now, but that would eliminate an office in the building and at this time, there is no other space available. Even with the addition of the elevator, there is still the question of an ADA accessible bathroom which the courthouse would need that would also take space away from an office holder. The commission is continuing to look into the options for the elevator locations and the creation of a bathroom in the old courthouse. There was also some discussion of a new courthouse being built to fit the needs of the county, but the commission feels the estimated costs of somewhere between $4 and $8 million dollars would be prohibitive, but that option has not been taken off the table. The commission will continue to explore all possibilities at this time. In the road report, District 1 Commissioner Keith Green said materials would be added and grading done on Dent County Roads 5070, 6250 and 6660, while brush will be cut on county road 5400. District 2 Commissioner Jimmy Williams said workers would be installing a driveway pipe on Dent County Road 4310 and materials will be added to the road, plus rock will also be added to county road 2330. Williams said brush would be cut on county roads 4300 and 4310, while other workers would be working on the brakes on two of the graders. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson said all three commissioners attended their annual training last week where they received updates on CERF, held a discussion on the issues pertaining to 3rd class counties, heard a report from Attorney Travis Elliott on Senate Bill 190 which is the Homestead Credit for seniors, and also heard from the Missouri Attorney General, Andrew Bailey. Larson said he was also able to talk with Senator Justin Brown on Senate Bills 57 and 239, and also speak to a number of representatives including John Hewkin and Don Mayhew. He said the tax commission sent a memorandum of understanding to a number of counties to make sure their county assessments are at the required 90% of the assessed valuation, but Dent County is already there so they did not get the MOU. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said the excused absentee voting for the Municipal Election is now available at the courthouse. She also said the last day to register to vote would be March 12th. Dent County Collector Shannon VanKirk brought in the property abatements for the year 2019 and they totaled $8,317.06. Bids were opened for culverts for the county for the year and two bids were received: Roberts-Judson in Salem and Viebrock Sales from Sedalia. Viebrock won the bid with a total cost of $69,900 for 91 culverts of varying sizes. Bids were then opened for grader blades and two bids were received: Viebrock Sales and Woolf Equipment of Salem. Woolf won that bid for 30 blades with a 5/8-inch bolt opening for $142.50 each, and 15 blades with a ¾-inch bolt opening for $142.50 each which came to $6,412.50. The county placed an order for half of the blades immediately to beat any tariff that may be imposed soon. The next meeting of the Dent County Commission will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the courthouse and the meeting is open to the public.

The Missouri Department of Transportation has announced general highway maintenance and construction work planned for the week. Route H brush cutting is scheduled through the week. One lane will remain open, and crews will flag traffic through the work zone. Route 19 roadside work continues at Standing Rock Creek, south of Route N, as part of a bridge replacement project.