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The Dent County Commissioners met Thursday morning for their regular meeting at the courthouse. In the hearing of persons, Dan Blanner from Dent County Road 5520, and Ed Schulze and Lois Schulze from Dent County Road 5530 attended the meeting saying their roads have not been cared for since the Road Rally. Blanner said the road needs more minus on the hills and river rock in low, muddy areas. He also stated that he has had to pick up large rocks in his yard after the rally and would really like the road rally to change roads, maybe every other year or so. The Schulze’s said county road 5330 hasn’t really been cared for that well since the school bus stopped coming down the road over six years ago. They said the roads have continued to be graded down and in some areas are now just dirt. District 1 Commissioner Dennis Purcell said he would have workers check the roads out and take care of the problem. They also asked why when trash is pickup up along Highway 19 that MoDOT stops at the Gladden Road. Presiding Commissioner Darrell Skiles said he would ask MoDOT engineer Preston Cramer that question. In the road report, Purcell said grading would be done on Dent County Roads 4185, 4230, 4235, 4253, 5020, 5140, 5680, 6280 and 6307. Purcell stated a work crew would be repairing the chip and seal road 6240 in Gladden. District 2 Commissioner Gary Larson reported grading would be done on Dent County Roads 3160 and 5240 while materials would be added and grading done on county road 2590. Larson went on to say brush would be cut on Dent County Roads 3295 and 3305, and a downed tree will be removed from county road 5225. Presiding Commissioner Skiles reported that he attended a TAC meeting in St. James last Thursday and the counties listed their priorities for work that needs to be done. He reported the Route TT Bridge at Crooked Creek in Sligo has moved up the list, but money is still an issue with MoDOT. In the External Relations Committee meeting, Skiles said they have put together a slate of officers to present to the MRPC Board at the next meeting. On Monday, Skiles said all three commissioners attended the MAC meeting in Jefferson City. Dent County Clerk Angie Curley said she attended the MAC Clerk’s conference where they discussed the possibility of early voting and the costs associated with it. She also reported that Senator Blunt’s Listening Post would be in Salem on May 7^th at the courthouse from 10:30 to 11:30. Dent County Treasurer Denita Williams brought in the sales tax collections for the month of April. Receipts for the month came in at $67,715.52 and that is over $8,000 more than for April of 2013 which came in at $59,619.95. Curley then handed out a sales tax comparison to the commissioners for collections since 2012 that included a breakdown for each month as well as a grand total. Year-to-date, Williams reported sales tax collections are up $23,569.80 more than last year which is about a 9.5% increase. Williams also brought in the figures from the distribution of National Forest PILT money and Dent County received $240,169 and that is over $74,000 less than in 2012 when Dent County received $315,122. These funds not only affect the county’s budget, but all the school districts that have National Forest lands. At 10:00, bids were opened for new plat books for the county. Two bids were received on time and Dent County Surveyor Craig Ruble also put in a bid, but it was received after the cutoff time. Mapping Solutions, Inc. from Lathrop, Missouri, bid 250 plat books at $25 each for the initial order for a total of $6,250. The county could also get 25 wall maps for $35 each for an additional $875, and they could also buy more plat books with a minimum order of 50 at a cost of $15 each. The second bid came from Farm and Home Publishers from Belmont, Iowa and they bid 250 plat books for $5,800 and 25 wall maps with other optional bids. The commissioners wanted to look over the bids more carefully before making a decision. George Jenkins and his daughter, Sonya Mead, came in to ask the county to reimburse them the penalty on the real estate taxes of $83.88. She told the commission and produced a document that showed the county assessor had updated the address of the property her father had just purchased in May of 2013. They received the property tax assessment form from the assessor as it came to the correct address, but the real estate tax statement was sent to the wrong address and came back to the county as undeliverable. Dent County Collector Dennis Medlock said that about 200 bills come back as undeliverable, but that number comes down as the Collector’s Office investigates those returns to about 50 at the end of the year. Medlock presented the commission with the Missouri Statutes that say even if a person doesn’t receive their tax statement in the mail, the property owner is still responsible for all taxes and applicable penalties. Mead’s contention is the Assessor’s office had the right address in May of 2013, and that address should have been on the tax rolls for the statements that went out in November. Instead, the address on the books was the old address which was incorrect. The commissioners wanted to talk with the Dent County Assessor Tina Whitaker to get her interpretation of this, but she was at a South Central Missouri Assessor’s Conference in Houston. By law, the commissioners have 30 days to respond to the written request for reimbursement, and the commission agreed they would reach a decision by next week once Whitaker is available to discuss the situation.

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