News – Wednesday, July 9th 2025

The Dent County Commission met Monday morning in the courthouse. In the road report, 1st District Commissioner Keith Green said grading would be done on Dent County Roads 6435, 6490, 6540 and 6550, while rock will be added to county road 6230 and brush is expected to be cut on county road 6450, but that could be delayed. Green said a tree would be removed from county road 5015 and crews will be checking on some roads after the intense rains from the weekend. Green also reported the county put out for bids for a 1,000 gallons unleaded fuel for the Road and Bridge Department with County Fuels having the lowest price of $2.55 per gallon. District Two Commissioner Jimmy Williams stated patch grading would be done on Dent County Roads 2115, 3270, 3273 and 3275 while brush will be cut on county road 3290. Williams indicated a new culvert was being installed on Dent County Road 3300 where additional rock will also be taken. Williams reported a grader is in the Anutt area to repair storm damage in that area. Presiding Commissioner Gary Larson announced he will be attending a Meramec Regional Community Foundation meeting Wednesday, July 9th at the MRPC offices in St. James. Larson also complimented Commissioners Jimmy Williams and Keith Green for doing a good job in light of the continuous severe weather occurrences that have occurred this year that have virtually destroyed some roads, having to deal with FEMA and SEMA claims which takes a lot of time through detailed documentation, and trying to stay within the budget. Larson, who was a 2nd District Commissioner for 15 years, said instead of slowly progressing learning curve, both these commissioners have had to deal with numerous situations calling for immediate decisions and action, prioritizing the most serious work to get done first. He said this means some roads have not gotten the usual attention that they have in the past and again is asking for people to be patient as the work crews are doing the best they can. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley wanted to remind everyone that Route TT in Sligo suffered more damage from storms and will remain closed for the foreseeable future. The commission signed a letter of support for the Scenic Rivers Industries to apply for a grant to get a new paper shredder as their previous shredded was destroyed in their building fire. Jeff Banderet from Great Rivers Engineering was in to present to the commission their bid booklet for the request for qualifications for the upcoming FEMA projects. They were the only RFQ the commission received, and they approved going with Great Rivers Engineering on the project. Banderet said he will put together their full scope of service for the projects and submit the price in a couple of weeks. Banderet did update the commission on the FLAP project which is the back road into Montauk State Park. He said archaeologists made some “findings” and Great Rivers submitted their results to MoDOT and are waiting on their response. MoDOT may want to have a “Phase 2” evaluation of the proposed plan, or Banderet said they may have to use the existing road system. This would need a “Phase 1” archaeological evaluation, and the cost would be about $20,000. He will let the commission know what MoDOT says. Also on the sidewalk TAP grant around the courthouse, Great Rivers is waiting on bids from lighting manufacturers to see if they can come up with ways to find a more economical solution to match the lighting system of the city such as the lights being powered by solar. He says burying the electric is the most expensive option and they hope to find something more affordable. Banderet went on to say new applications for FLAP projects for the years 2028 through 2030 will be due this October 1st and if the county had another project they would like to submit, they would need to let Great Rivers know so that an application can be prepared by then. The next meeting of the Commission will be Thursday morning at 9:00 at the Dent County Courthouse and the meeting will be open to the public.