The Stoddard County Commission opened their meeting with a prayer and the pledge of Allegiance.

Presiding Commissioner opened with a letter from Daniel W. Craig with regards to his resignation as the Stoddard County Assessor effective 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 2023.

"I am proud of the many accomplishments made by the dedicated staff of the Stoddard County Assessor's Office and I am confident that these successes will ontinue after my departure.  It has been the highest honor to serve the people of Stoddard County.

"We will have to wait word from the Governor's office as to the procedure to fill the vacancy," commented Mathis.  His term is through 2024.

Closing Stoddard County Road 570

The property adjoins the property of Rick Shipman.  "I think that we need to contact Shipman out of courtesy and have his approval to close that road,"  stated Commission Mathis.

Sally Cato, representing the Blackshire family, stated that the road has not been maintained.  The only thing that happens on that road was dumping illegally of trash.

Loyd Rice, GoSEMO Fiber Broadband Project

Rice stated that there were not any bids for the city of Puxico from he CDGB grant.  The grant is very layered in specifications on the the project.

"The Puxico town portion of the CDGB came in real layered.  It makes the bid follow the Davis - Bacon rules which includes some bonding, prevailing wages and affirmative action rules," stated Rice.

The only two options are to scale the project back or to go back to CDGB and change the scope of the project.  Due to prevailing wages the project is going to almost double in cost for the 76 miles of laying fiber. 

GoSEMO Fiber has told the city of Puxico they are moving forward within the city limits to get fiber there.  It's good business sense for the Coop and we are tired of waiting on funding from grants etc.

There is bid opening slated for this Thursday for the County at Bootheel Regional Planning.  There may not be any bids on Thursday, but GoSEMO will not be bidding.  There may be other option down the road.

Jim Grebing, Director Bootheel Regional Planning Commission

He was unable to attend this week.  Via text to Commissioner Mathis he stated that he had not received approval on the payment for the Duck Creek project from the attorney.  We are working on speeding up this process.

ARPA Funds

Motion to approve the project by Castor Township to asphalt County Road 413 up to $200,000 of ARPA Funds made by Commissioner C.D. Stewart.  Seconded by Commissioner Carol Jarrell.  All three voted yes, motion passed.

County Road 249.  Motion made by Commissioner C.D. Stewart to approve ARPA Funds for New Lisbon Township for box culvert for County Road 249.  Seconded by Commissioner Jarrell.  All three voted yes, motion passed.  Bids will be need to be obtained.

Terry Bates, board member of New Lisbon Township, brought in a bill for the Bridge repair on County Road 271 from Payne Contracting LLC.  

Other Business

Wayne Jean, Board Member of the Stoddard County Sb-40 Board sent a letter to the Commission to be re-appointed to the SB-40 Board since his term expires on June 30, 2023.  The letter stated, "I have enjoyed serving on this board for the last 3 years.  We have worked very closely with the Stoddard County Sheltered Workshop.  they appear now to be getting better financially.  We have also financed many improvements in their building.  The work on the building will go on for a few more months before being completely finished.

Motion to approve Wayne Jean, Board Member for the Stoddard County SB-40 Board will be placed on next week's Agenda.

The minutes for the May 15, 2023 meeting were not available to approve, nor the closed session meeting that was held after the regular meeting.

Motion to Approve Ads and Abates for April 2023 made by Commissioner Jarrell.  Seconded by Commissioner Stewart. All three voted yes and motion passed.

Motion to accept the Promulgation Statement from Beau Bishop, EMA made by Commissioner Stewart.  Seconded by Commissioner Jarrell.  All three voted yes and motion passed.

Motion to go into closed session made by Commissioner Stewart.  Seconded by Jarrell.  All three voted yes and motion passed 11:13 a.m.

Note: I attend this meeting everyone Monday from 9 a.m. - Noon.  Normally 3 hours unless they go into closed session.  

  Every day when law enforcement officers pin on their badges, they make an extraordinary commitment to the American people: to rush toward danger regardless of the risk and to faithfully stand up for the rule of law. Across our neighborhoods, towns, and cities, they put themselves in harm’s way, hoping to return home safely to their families. On Peace Officers Memorial Day and during Police Week, we celebrate the remarkable courage of our law enforcement community and honor the fallen heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their fellow Americans. 

   As a Nation, we expect a lot from our law enforcement officers. They save lives by keeping our roads, subways, and highways safe and responding to domestic violence incidents and natural disasters. We ask them to ensure public safety, build trust within our neighborhoods, and protect the well-being of our communities. Too often, they are also called upon to respond to mass shootings, drug overdoses, mental health crises, and more. Being a law enforcement officer is not just what they do; it is who they are.

  The same is true for their families, who sacrifice alongside these heroic Americans. It takes a special person to marry or be the child of a law enforcement officer — knowing the uncertainty as their loved one walks out the door and dreading the possibility of receiving that phone call.

   No memorial can ever fill the void left in the hearts of those who have lost a loved one in the line of duty. But their sacrifices in full service to their communities and to our Nation will never be forgotten. We will continue to honor their memories with actions that help keep our law enforcement officers and communities safe from harm. 

   When I took office at the height of the pandemic, State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement budgets were shrinking. Some agencies were facing their lowest staffing levels in decades, undermining their ability to perform their jobs. That is why we provided crucial funding to help police departments build new training facilities, recruit new personnel, and give officers a raise. I also expanded benefits for first responders who were disabled in the line of duty and their families. And I signed laws improving officer wellness by expanding critical mental health resources to address the physical and emotional trauma that so many members of our law enforcement community experience.

   Meanwhile, I have taken steps to keep law enforcement officers safer on the job by signing the most sweeping gun safety law in nearly three decades. It helps keep more guns out of the hands of dangerous people, including by broadening restrictions on domestic abusers, which is critical because domestic violence calls can often turn deadly for police. This law also supports crisis interventions, including extreme risk protection orders, and provides a billion dollars to address the mental health crisis in America. We are also strengthening background checks for 18 to 20-year-olds trying to purchase guns, helping prosecutors crack down on illegal gun sales, and reining in ghost guns that police across the country are increasingly finding at crime scenes.

   As I have often said, when it comes to keeping our communities safe, the answer is not to defund the police. It is to fund them with the resources and training they need to protect and serve our communities and to build trust with the American public. My Safer America Plan calls on the Congress to invest in recruiting, hiring, and training more than 100,000 additional officers for effective, accountable community policing, consistent with the standards of my policing Executive Order. My plan also invests in programs that send social workers and other professionals to respond to calls that should not be the responsibility of law enforcement. And it invests $5 billion in proven crime-prevention strategies like community violence interruption. We must not accept the false choice between public safety and public trust; they are two sides of the same coin. 

   At the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C., there is a quote engraved on the wall that reads, “It is not how these officers died that made them heroes, it is how they lived.” Today, during this week, and year-round, we express our gratitude for the courageous women and men of our Nation’s law enforcement community. We honor the memory of the members who made the ultimate sacrifice and pray for their families. And we recommit ourselves to the sacred task of creating a safer and more just Nation for all Americans. 

   By a joint resolution approved October 1, 1962, as amended (76 Stat. 676), and by Public Law 103-322, as amended (36 U.S.C. 136-137), the President has been authorized and requested to designate May 15 of each year as “Peace Officers Memorial Day” and the week in which it falls as “Police Week.”

   NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 15, 2023, as Peace Officers Memorial Day and May 14 through May 20, 2023, as Police Week. I call upon all Americans to observe these events with appropriate ceremonies and activities and salute our Nation’s brave law enforcement officers and remember their peace officer brothers and sisters who have given their last full measure of devotion in the line of duty. I also call on the Governors of the United States and its Territories, and appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day. I further encourage all Americans to display the flag at half-staff from their homes and businesses on that day.

   IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-seventh.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

The Missouri Department of Revenue has announced the upcoming Request for Proposal (RFP) of the license office in Dexter, Missouri, located at 119 Vine Street, Dexter, MO 63841. Bids will start being accepted May 10, and must be submitted by May 23.

For a list of bid opportunities and bid response instructions, please visit Missouri’s statewide electronic procurement system, MissouriBUYS, at https://missouribuys.mo.gov/. Interested groups or individuals who wish to bid to operate the Dexter License Office must have an active Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and must submit the proposal under the legal entity name for which the FEIN was assigned. The Missouri Department of Revenue, through the Office of Administration, is posting an RFP for the Dexter License Office contract, since the current contract is close to expiring. Interested bidders have approximately 10 business days to submit their proposal for the operation of the license office in the competitive bid process, as outlined in the RFP. A scheduled tour of the current location may be requested by emailing the procurement contact listed on MissouriBUYS.

Proposals will be evaluated on items as outlined in the RFP. All of the proposals will be evaluated by a review team at the Department of Revenue, and the proposal that scores best in the areas outlined in the RFP will be selected to operate the office.

Resources to Help Guide Potential Bidders:

Missouri License Office Locations - https://dor.mo.gov/license-office-locator/

Estimated Transactions and Processing Fees Collected at Missouri License Offices FY22 - https://dor.mo.gov/contact/documents/FY2022MVandDLEstimatedTransactionsandProces...

Recent Evaluations of Awarded Bids - https://dor.mo.gov/resources/purchasing/

License offices are operated by independent contractors and are overseen by the Missouri Department of Revenue. All license office contracts in Missouri are awarded through a competitive bid process.

A Proclamation on Honoring the Victims of the Tragedy in Allen, Texas

As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on May 6, 2023, in Allen, Texas, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, May 11, 2023. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-seventh.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

President of the United States of America