County to not cover cost of trustee-held properties

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by Patty Cheffey

Noting they did not own the property, but are only holding it in trust, the Marion County Commission said they would notify the city of Hannibal they would not be paying for demolition work or asbestos abatement on trustee-held properties in Hannibal.

Charlene Jones-Liendo, county trustee, said she had gotten a bill from the city on the demolition of a trustee-held property in Hannibal, and added, she had gotten the bill after the property was already demolished.

“I have done this job for years and the county has never paid for any of that type of work,” she said, noting she had not even received a notification about the demolition work until after the fact.

Jones-Liendo added she has gotten notices about mowing trustee-held property, sometimes threatening jail time if it isn’t taken care of, and noted again she is only holding that property in trust.

“If I owned it, I would take care of it, but it’s not my property,” she said.

Western District Commissioner Steve Begley noted the city of Hannibal can apply for grants through the Mark Twain Regional Council of Governments for demolition purposes.

In other business, the commissioners opened four bids for county health insurance, but tabled a decision until those can be reviewed thoroughly.

Bids were received from MIRMA Health, Trusted Insurance, First State Insurance, which currently has the county’s health insurance, and Health Insurance Cooperative Agency.

In her report, Teya Stice, improvement coordinator, said she had received an update on current bridge projects, noting MECO Engineering has completed hydraulics and is in the process of determining the size of the structure needed and confirm alignments.

In addition, they are determining right-of-way and easements to prepare for visits to property owners.

She also reported the county had received a $20,600 Emergency Management Performance Grant, which will cover half the cost of John Hark’s salary. Hark is the county’s emergency management director.

Stice noted the grants used to be for a lot more, but those have gotten less every year.

In addition, Stice said she had received a report from Premier Claims about the Hannibal roof’s hail damage, which noted the “scope was completed and they are awaiting the engineer’s report.”

Noting she was unsure what that meant, she has asked for clarification from Premier Claims.