County OKs 911 grant application, storm water project bid

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by Patty Cheffey

Although a necessary step for now and although it won’t be a benefit to Marion County, the county commissioners signed off on a grant application for the Marion County 911.

During their meeting Monday morning, the commissioners heard about a statewide 911 grant from Mike Hall, Marion County 911 coordinator, which will be used to upgrade Marion County 911 equipment to help provide enhanced 911 to Scotland and Clark counties.

Also Monday, the commissioners also heard a request for American Rescue funds for 911 and heard reports from the Mark Twain Regional Council of Governments and from Teya Stice, county coordinator, about the logo contest.

According to Hall, funds from a fee on prepaid cell phones, can be used to provide enhanced 911 services to counties in Missouri which do not have that service right now.

Marion County and Macon County 911 services are teaming up to help Scotland, Clark and Schuyler counties in Missouri to attain enhanced 911 with Macon working with Schuyler County.

While those counties will have to apply for the grants in order to pay for those services, Marion and Macon counties will use the 911 grant to expand its current equipment and pay for licenses to tie into and to help the three counties with enhanced 911.

“Basically, when it is all set up and going, when a person calls in, dispatch will be able to see exactly where that person is in that county,” said Hall, adding that currently that is not a possibility. “It will save lives.”

There will be no ongoing costs to Marion County for the expansion, Hall said, but Clark, Scotland and Schuyler counties will have to have funding in place in five years to be able to continue the enhanced 911 service.

“I think they are hoping there will be state funds available, but they can’t count on that,” Hall said.

Hall noted that after Aug. 1, since Marion County has an independent board they will no longer have to have the county commission’s approval for a grant application, but since this application is due July 31, they have to.

In another matter, Hall asked the commissioners to consider spending some of its American Rescue Funds to help provide Missouri Statewide Interoperability Network (MOSWIN) radios to those emergency entities which currently do not have them.

Currently, those having the radios can communicate with each other through an effective system, but those without it cannot.

Currently, 911 is sending out a survey to Marion County emergency entities asking for numbers of radios still needed. 

Once that information is gathered and costs are known, Hall said he will be asking the county for a cost-share of the total using the American Relief Program funds. 

He noted Ralls County has already approved to cost share for the same program there.

In other business, the commissioners heard an update from Ashley Long with the Mark Twain Regional Council of Governments, who reported a person has been hired to take over working with the various entities on the American Rescue Funds process.

She also noted they are waiting to hear back from the State Emergency Management Agency concerning the warning siren in Taylor.

In addition, MTRCG now has a speed trailer, traffic counter and pedestrian counter available for use.

The commissioners also:

• approved the city’s recommendation of T&B Trucking & Excavating from Hurdland, Mo. in the amount of $150,932.70 on the storm water drainage project. The county will pay for half that amount;

• learned from Stice the logo contest is now being handled by 4-H which plans to set up a display of the entries in the Sesquicentennial Building during the fair for the public to vote for their favorite one. 

• approved promoting the new clerk in the collector’s office to Clerk 2; and

• heard an update on work being done on county roads from recent storms and on the progress of the dust control program from Mike Schaefer, county highway supervisor.