Commission Minutes

SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 51st DAY OF
THE JULY ADJOURNED TERM

The County Commission met in the County Commission Hearing Room at 9:00
a.m. pursuant to adjourn with Chuck Pennel, Presiding, and Danny Strahan, Eastern
Commissioner, present and the following proceedings were had and made a matter of
record.

Prayer was led by Commissioner Pennel followed by the pledge.

ACCOUNTS ALLOWED

Commissioner Strahan made a motion to approve accounts payable warrants,
except for #306068, Sunny Hills Nursery, due to an error on the invoice, #605987 –
306067, 306069 – 306078 and manual warrant #4895. Commissioner Pennel seconded
the motion. The motion passed by vote: Pennel (yes), Herschend (absent), Strahan (yes).

PRIOR MINUTES

Commissioner Pennel stated there are no prior minutes available for approval at
this time.

LAKE BEACH LANE
ROAD PETITION

Mr. Chris Cooper appeared before the Commission to clarify ownership of lots on
Lake Beach Lane, as the Commission expressed concerns of following the county road
guidelines.

Commissioner Pennel read the following remonstrance into the record and it read
as follows:

REMONSTRANCE TO THE SEPTEMBER 22, 2008 PETITION TO ESTABLISH LAKE
BEACH LANE AS A COUNTY ROAD

In response to your letter dated August 14, 2008, we object to the petition to establish Lake Beach
Lane as a County Road. We own the home at 290 Scenic Drive, Hollister, MO, which adjoins
Lake Beach Lane.

We were never consulted about the type, size, or location of the road or how the road would affect
our property. Was any consideration given to routing the water to avoid drainage and damage
from the road to the adjoining neighboring properties? We telephoned the original developer, Mr.
Hodges, who said in a phone call from us as he was leaving the country, that he talked to the
county and the county approved his plan for the project that included culvert(s).

Since the developer constructed the road without deep ditches, culverts and drainage
consideration, we have constant water into our basement. The water moves like a river through
our property and washes out our driveway regularly.
 The water problem can be fixed and should be the responsibility of the developer, not the County
and taxpayers of Taney County.

Diane and Vic Mitchell
989 NW Colbern Road, Apt. 10A
Lee’s Summit, Mo 64086
816-519-5291

Mr. Frank Preston, Road & Bridge Administrator, commented that he drove Lake
Beach Lane this past weekend. He noted visual drainage concerns as well as questioning
if and when the lots were developed, whose responsibility would it be to correct the
drainage issue / make improvements.

Commissioner Strahan commented that it was unusual for more than one (1)
property owner to have a remonstrance towards taking a road into the county
maintenance system.

Commissioner Pennel made a motion to table until the Commission could
evaluate the drainage issue with Mr. Preston. Commissioner Strahan seconded the
motion. The motion passed by vote: Pennel (yes), Herschend (absent), Strahan (yes).

CASEY ROAD

Mr. Preston stated that the paving on Casey Road is completed and also noted that
he has received many positive comments on the project. He commented that there will be
a post-construction meeting with Great River Engineering and Herion next week and in
the near future a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Ms. Helen Soutee, County Treasurer, commented how much better Casey Road
looks and drives.

ELECTION

Ms. Neeley noted that her staff has sent out over 300 absentees, which indicates a
large voter turnout for Taney County.

JAMES STRAHAN
COUNTY ASSESSOR

Mr. Strahan applauded the Sheriff’s Department for their continued service at the
intersection of Highway 160 & Highway 76, as the traffic runs smoother than it has in the
past.

SEWER LINE

Mr. James Strahan stated that his father, Mr. John Strahan, Jr., wanted a letter
read into the minutes that was sent to him from Mr. Larry VanGilder, City of Branson
Public Works Director and it read as follows:
 June 17, 2008

Mr. John Strahan, Jr.
142 Strahan Road
Kirbyville, Missouri 65679

Dear Mr. Strahan:

A couple of years ago during Bee Creek Project discussions between Branson and the
County, it was stated several times by the City that the Taney County Regional Sewer District had
constructed a sewer line onto John Strahan, Jr.’s property and to date no sewer connection had
been made to that line.

I provided this information regarding sewer line location to Paul Link, our City attorney
for City/County discussions, based on past information I had understood while I was on the Taney
County Regional Sewer District Board.

After being challenged by the Strahan family regarding this matter, I obtained maps from
John Soutee, Administrator of the Taney County Regional Sewer District, and researched the
issues. I learned that the sewer line was not on Strahan property as I had believed, and in fact, was
actually more than 4,000 feet from any Strahan property.

I would like to sincerely apologize to John Strahan, Jr., and his family for the
misinformation I provided for public discussions. Mr. Strahan was a long-time County
Commissioner and in my research on the sewer line in question I found out that Commissioner
Strahan had explicitly stated he did not want the County sewer line anywhere close to his property
to avoid any perceived conflict.

The public discussion regarding the location of this line in respect to the Strahan property
should never have happen ed and I regret that I provided inaccurate information. Please accept my
heartfelt apology. I assure you I have learned a valuable lesson from this situation.

Sincerely,

Larry VanGilder
City of Branson Public Works Director
Cc: Taney County Regional Sewer Board
Taney County Commissioners
Mayor Raeanne Presley
Frank Schoneboom, Interim City Administrator

He also expressed on behalf of the Strahan family that he appreciated the letter and stated
that it was a very honorable thing to do. Commissioner Strahan stated that Mr. Paul Link
had personally apologized for the untruths that were told, as well as the Mr. VanGilder’s
willingness to find the truth.

MoDOT SIGNAGE AGREEMENT

Commissioner Pennel stated that he had received a telephone call from Mr. Andy
Miller, MoDOT District Planning Manager, regarding the Signage Agreement. He also
discussed the route and roads that the signage would take place on and stated that a new
agreement would be sent out including pictures of the signs.

Commissioner Strahan voiced concerns regarding Taney County being placed on
the signs and that citizens may get confused during an emergency situation and think it is
county instead of city. Assessor Strahan commented that the Commission should check
into the 911 addresses and if changes needed to occur that there were several addresses
along the signage path that would need to do so.

Commissioner Pennel stated that tentatively the county will go out for bid in
November 2009 and will start working on placing signs by early 2010.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Mr. Art Beck commented on the 911 addresses in that the Commission should
look into the amount of changes that would need to occur. He also expressed that
someone in the county should be designated to remove animal carcasses.

Mr. John Strahan Jr. commented that everyone makes mistakes, but appreciate
Mr. VanGilder vocalizing this.

RECESS
9:36 a.m.

Minutes were taken and typed by Nikki Lawrence.

RECONVENE
11:30 a.m.

WILLA DERBY & LINDA BLUNK
COUNTRY MART

Willa Derby and Linda Blunk representing Country Mart of Forsyth met with the
Commission to inform them that the deli was rearranging and adding a dining room. Ms.
Derby added that Doug Girard had asked if the County would be interested in putting up
a bulletin board.

The Commission thought that that would be a great opportunity.

BOB PAULSON
WORK SESSION

Counselor Paulson met with the Commission to discuss various legal issues as
well as reviewing his weekly schedule.
 1. Justus Case: Counselor Paulson noted that Shannon Justus would like an
opportunity to present his case to the Commission regarding the determination
of deeming his dog vicious. The Commission agreed that either the 6th or 20th
of October at 1:00 p.m.
2. Groom Building: Counselor Paulson updated the Commissioners regarding
the Groom Building and Mr. Peter Rea.
3. Harold Plott: Commissioner Strahan questioned if Counselor Paulson was
working on the Harold Plott issue for the sewer district. Counselor Paulson
noted that he was waiting to speak with Sewer District Administrator, John
Soutee.
4. Nuisance Cases: Commissioner Pennel asked if Counselor Paulson or Nikki
Lawrence could put together the files of those nuisances in litigation as he
would like to review the progress.

ANNEX STORAGE

John Lavender, Maintenance Supervisor informed the Commission that the
doorway to the Jail Annex was not wide enough to move desks in and out, and requested
that the concrete be cut for two double doors. Commissioner Pennel asked if one door
would work versus two. Mr. Lavender noted that it was just him that was available to
move the furniture and the doorway is not wide enough to get them in there. Frank
Preston, Road and Bridge Administrator mentioned that Carpenter, Steve Biggs would be
available to cut the hole. Commissioner Pennel noted that they should have Mr. Biggs
cut the hole.

JUDICIAL FACILITY
WEEKLY UPDATE

The County Commission discussed contacting the supplier regarding the smooth
black granite at the staircase and the new parking area in front of the existing courthouse.

MAYOR OLIPHANT
DOZER WORK

Mayor Oliphant approached the Commission, asking if the City of Forsyth were
to rent a big dozer, for approximately a month, would the County have an operator
available and that cost could come out of the $50,000.00 the County granted the City.
Commissioner Pennel noted that he was ok with the idea but wanted to know when they
would need to be available as it would have to be discussed at Shop Talk.

FRANK PRESTON & TRESSA LUTTRELL
WORK SESSION

1. Coy Boulevard/MoDot contract: Ms. Luttrell presented the Commission with
the contract for Coy Boulevard. Commissioner Strahan made a motion to
 approve said contract. Commissioner Pennel seconded the motion. The
motion passed by vote: Pennel (yes), Herschend (absent), Strahan (yes).

2. Retention Ponds: Mr. Preston informed the Commission that the retention
ponds had been taken care of and a final report was being prepared for the
DNR.

3. Casey Road: Mr. Preston noted that the paving was finished and that the lawn
work was approximately half finished. Mr. Preston commented that he would
like to change the message boards and would also be going door to door to tie
up any loose ends.

4. General Update: Mr. Preston updated the Commission on various projects
and operations within the road department.

ANIMAL CONTROL
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commissioner Pennel commented that the Department of Agriculture was going
to be picking up as many as 100 animals in another area of the state and had requested
that the County’s Animal Control Officer assist with the pick up and hauling of said
animals. Commissioner Pennel further noted that this would not be a reimbursable
expenditure.

Commissioner Strahan inquired as to if the Animal Control vehicle had been fixed
yet, if not, he would not agree.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Commissioner Pennel made a motion to go into executive session pursuant to
RSMo. 610.021.3. Commissioner Strahan seconded the motion. The motion passed by
vote: Pennel (yes), Herschend (absent), Strahan (yes).