County Commission DC Report

The Cass County Commission Pleased with DC Efforts;

Federal and State Grants Announced

Harrisonville, Missouri - The Cass County Commission has had a few inquiries regarding the commissioner's travel to Washington DC this past March. All three commissioners are pleased to provide citizens with information about their business in Washington DC.

The National Association of Counties (NaCO) holds their annual legislative conference in Washington DC every year. County officials from around the nation attend the event to discuss federal legislation and budget issues that will impact local governments.

Some facts about the trip:

• Commissioners arrived in Washington DC on Thursday evening (March 5) and prepared for meetings with Senator Bond, Representative Emmanuel Cleaver, and Representative Sam Graves on Friday morning. Commissioners also registered for the NACO Legislative Conference on Friday.


• Topics of discussion with Congressional leaders included...a foreign trade zone in Cass County that would work to create jobs; federal dollars for upgrading 71 Highway to Interstate status (I-49); the unfunded-federal mandate to upgrade all police, fire, and emergency communications by 2013 - this is a $15 million to $18 million cost to upgrade all police, fire, and emergency services in Cass County); discussion on federal grants to help Cass County compete for new businesses and jobs.


• On Saturday and Sunday, NaCO began sessions for county officials. All three commissioners attended meetings that included the following topics: improving technology services and providing information to citizens; public-private partnerships; agricultural issues both at the federal and state level; FEMA and how to acquire federal grants to improve emergency services; a special technology summit focused on efficiency in government services; energy resources and information; senior & health issues facing county governments; and much more.


• The Commissioners visited with Senator Claire McCaskill's staff and Representative Ike Skelton on Monday (March 9). That same day, the NaCO general session began with speakers from the White House, the Department of Energy, and various government officials presenting to the county officials.


• On Tuesday, the NaCO general session continued...with the Commissioners leaving on Tuesday morning and afternoon.

Cass County covered the hotel, meal, airline, and transportation costs of the all three County Commissioners with the total being $5,509.24. All three commissioners also stayed in regular contact with their local offices through email and phone.

Soon after the Commissioner returned it was announced by Representative Cleaver that Cass County would receive $378,500 for an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant. Congressman Cleaver announced the grant to Cass County on April 2. Cass County is also pleased to get the Historic Preservation County Courthouse Grant that totals $80,000. Detailed information on these grants is coming soon.

The County Commission noted that this is the first time in recent history that Commissioners had met face-to-face with all the Congressional leaders who actually represent Cass County all at the same time. "We were able to sit...share our issues...and give a clear message to each of our leaders," stated Presiding Commissioner Gary Mallory. "Their staff members talk to each other and they will be discussing the needs of Cass County because we took the time to share with them directly."

Cass County Commissioner Brian Baker stated that it takes visits to Jefferson City and Washington DC to advocate for tax dollars that will improve our county. "Building relationships with our elected leaders both and the state and federal level allows the voices of Cass County to be heard. When we have the chance to apply for grants and bring our hard-earned tax dollars back to Cass County, then it is imperative we go to our state and national leaders and make our voices heard and build those relationships. When you look at the investment it takes to make that journey...and the result generates success like the Energy Efficiency Grant or the Historic Preservation Grants...then I can look the tax-payer in the eye and say we are working hard to bring your tax-dollars back home," stated Baker.

Baker noted that the Cass County Commission is working very hard to be an open-book. "We are glad to visit with citizens and share with them what we are doing...the question is 'How can we serve you today?'" Baker also invites citizens to call all three County Commissioners if they have questions about their efforts. "Gary and Bill and I have all agreed that we have a wide-open door for citizens. Come by and visit us anytime or give us a call."

Gary Mallory 816-380-8160 or garym@casscounty.com
Bill Cook 816-380-8158 or billc@casscounty.com
Brian Baker 816-380-8159 or brianb@casscounty.com

Cass County Road & Bridge Update

Road & Bridge Task Force Continues Work...

Harrisonville, Missouri - The Cass County Commission is releasing recommendations being made by the Cass County Road & Bridge Task Force. Task force members have been meeting since January to look at the construction, quality, and services of the Road & Bridge Department of Cass County. The task force was made up of citizens representing every corner of Cass County.

Two major recommendations made by citizens involved quality control and training. Task force members believed it was essential that Road & Bridge employees receiving certified training in every area of service they provided, such as gravel grading and equipment operations.

The other major recommendation was to hire a part-time employee strictly involved in dealing with quality control. Their role would be to examine road projects and make sure that the county did not cut corners. The quality control employee would report to the County Commission and inform them of progress in improving the quality of road and work to make sure proper practices are used in building roads.

One of the more controversial recommendations is acquiring 60 ft. right-of-way on county roads (30 ft. from the center line on each side of the road). The Road & Bridge Task Force believes that a quality road involves plenty of room for water flow, ditches, and safety. However, the County Commission and task force members want to work with citizens on this issue. "We would exempt that right-of-way from property taxes and we would not seek rights to the 60 foot until we were actually going to build the road," stated Commissioner Bill Cook. "To build a quality road that is safe and sound, we have to move in this direction."

Other recommendations included:

• All county roads need the ditches cleaned out and have a road width of 22 feet minimum with a 4 inch-plus crown and graded from ditch to ditch with no build up of sod or debris on the roadway. Ditches should be variable in depth from a few inches at the crown of a hill to 18 inches maximum.


• All future bridges need to have at least 40 tons carrying capacity.


• Create example roads to show citizens and developers exactly how roads should be built and use these models in future developments.


• No new hard surface roads in 2009 - focus on strictly maintaining and repairing current roadways. Develop long-term and short-term plans for 2010 and beyond.


• Attach GPS tracking devices on all trucks, maintainers, and loaders so that we can track work and efforts for the department. This will also enable the county to send the nearest road crews to areas of concern that require immediate or emergency attention.


• Develop a public-private partnership with a rock quarry that will lower the cost of our gravel purchases.


• Improve overall communication and customer service quality within the Road & Bridge Department.

The Cass County Commissioners have also begun work in developing public-public partnerships with the cities in Cass County. Commissioners are advocating that the county and cities align their road standards and bid all of their road projects together rather than separately. The focus is to get more road work done for the dollar. The plan would also include working with the Mount Pleasant Special Road District.

Commissioner Brian Baker said the focus needs to be on using the tax-payers dollars in the most efficient way. "It is really simple. If we combine our road projects, we can use economy-of-scale to get more road work done. We are simply looking to work with the cities to use the tax-payers dollars in a more cost effective way. The goal is to help cities increase their ability to improve roads in their city limits and the county to improve their roads county wide.”

Mayor Ernie Jungmeyer has been selected by the County Commissioners and area mayors to head up the project of organizing road projects county-wide. Commissioner Gary Mallory cited Mayor Jungmeyer's civil engineering background as the reason for the selection. "Mayor Jungmeyer and the other city mayors agreed that this is a prime opportunity to unite and work together. His background will enable us to accomplish this task and in 2010 we can simply do more with the dollars we have and improve our roads in both the cities and the county."

Mayor Jungmeyer was glad to lead the initiative to work with the cities and Cass County. "This is a chance for us to unite and simply provide better service to the citizens. We are coming together to find ways to get the most out of our tax-dollars." Jungmeyer noted that since most bids and projects have already been accepted for 2009, the focus will be on making sure our standards work together and then moving forward in 2010.

County Commissioners have met with most of the city leaders throughout the county and the reception to the idea has been very positive.