~Owners will see new contracts after OK by prosecuting attorney
CHARLESTON -- Those owning hangars at the Mississippi County airport will soon see new lease agreements.
County Clerk Junior DeLay advised county commissioners during their regular meeting Thursday that he has drafted a lease agreement to reflect the new county policy for the hangars.
Following a meeting with Bruce Austin who asked if he could sell his hangar during the regular County Commission meeting Feb. 14, commissioners decided to amend county policy to allow hangar owners to retain their ownership as long as they kept the structures in good condition.
Under the original contracts, hangars were to become the property of the county 20 years after they were built. DeLay said that was a standard arrangement for airports at that time.
DeLay said he modified a contract from Cochise County, Ariz., to come up with a new lease agreement.
This agreement includes insurance stipulations, such as requiring hangar owners to file a certificate of insurance, and the county's right to come on the property among other things, according to DeLay.
Presiding Commissioner Jim Blumenberg said commissioners will take action on the new lease agreement after it is reviewed by Darren Cann, Mississippi County's prosecuting attorney.
A copy of the lease agreement will then be sent to everyone who has a private hangar on the county airport property.
In other business Thursday:
* The most recent sales tax receipts are down 2.5 percent from last year, according to Blumenberg.
"Overall we're still up 3 and a half percent for the year so far," he said.
DeLay said law enforcement revenue is higher this year as compared with last year at this time. "Usually January and February are down months," he said.
* Commissioners Martin Lucas and Homer Oliver discussed attending a media event scheduled at 9 a.m. today at the Mississippi County Detention Center.
Morris Westfall, the new state director for the USDA's Rural Development, was scheduled to present a mock check for $51,568 for the RD grant received by the county for the purchase of two equipped vehicles for the sheriff's department.
* Blumenberg said vans used to transport federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees held by the county at the Detention Center have over 350,000 miles on them and may need replacement or significant maintenance soon.
As the law enforcement fund's budget is already tight, being able to pay for their replacement or the maintenance is going to be a problem, he said,
"We won't get a grant for that," Blumenberg said.
He estimated yearly mileage put on the vans at about 35,000.
"They're all highway miles," Oliver noted.
* Contracted mowing on county ditches should begin in May or June, according to commissioners.
Oliver and Lucas discussed going together to view ditches so they can set priorities for the mowing.
* Commissioners went into a closed session to discuss liability and workers compensation issues related to the use of inmate labor that were raised following a Missouri Supreme Court decision.
The court ruled inmates can sue the state if injured on the job while working for the state.
Commissioners and DeLay agreed inmates used by the county have done a great job maintaining the Oak Grove Cemetery.