Meramec Regional Planning Commission
Minutes
January 10, 2008

Call to Order

Chairman Bob Reed called the January 10 meeting of the Meramec Regional Planning Commission to order at 7:30 p.m.

Consent Agenda

The following consent agenda items were presented for approval:

1. Minutes (December)

2. Contracts
   • Missouri University of Science & Technology – (Addendum)
     Permission was requested for MRPC’s chairman and/or executive director to sign an addendum to its contract by and between MRPC and Missouri Science & Technology for use of FRP technology on specific bridges awarded to MRPC by the Delta Regional Authority. The addendum extends the time through Dec. 31, 2008.
   • EDA Planning Grant
     Permission was requested for MRPC’s chairman to sign the Financial Assistance Award document to accept the $55,000 in planning grant funds from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA).
     
     (Additions)
   • Department of Health & Senior Services (DHSS)
     Permission was requested for MRPC’s chairman and/or executive director to enter into a contract with the Dept. of Health & Senior Services to provide technical assistance for a lead abatement program for residential homes.
   • City of Bland, Mo.
     Permission was requested for MRPC’s chairman and/or executive director to enter into a technical assistance contract to provide codification services for the city of Bland.
   • First Bank of Gerald, Mo.
     Permission was requested for MRPC’s chairman and/or executive director to enter into a contract to provide SBA 7(a) loan packaging services for First Bank of Gerald, Mo.
     

Cliff Hammock made a motion to approve the consent agenda with the additions; seconded by Mary Heywood. The motion carried.

Legislators

All of the federal legislators for the Meramec Region were invited to the board meeting to participate in an idea exchange.

Richard Cavender welcomed the following congressional staff members to the meeting:
Katy Disinger, staff of Sen. Claire McCaskill;
Jordan Clothier, staff of Sen. Christopher Bond;
Darren Lingle, staff of Rep. Jo Ann Emerson;
Ann Kutscher, staff of Rep. Ike Skelton; and
Jenni Riegel, staff of Rep. Kenny Hulshof.

The guests reported as follows:

(Katy Disinger Comments)

• Ms. Disinger reported that Sen. McCaskill serves on five committees: 1) Armed Services; 2) Commerce, Science and Transportation; 3) Environment and Public Works; 4) Homeland Security and Government Affairs; and 5) Indian Affair. She also serves on 15 subcommittees.
• She worked to get the federal minimum wage increased to $7.25 per hour by 2009.
• Early childhood education Headstart – five-year reauthorization.
• Airport screening.
• Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2008.
• Energy Independence Act of 2007.
• Tax Relief for homeowners facing foreclosures.
• Tax credits for volunteer fire fighters.
• Worked on legislation to prevent senators from lobbying for two years after leaving office.
• Money back to the states—was director of special projects.
• Guests are welcome to stop by Sen. McCaskill’s office for a cup of coffee.

(Jordan Clothier Comments)  

• Sen. Bond continues to work to extend the Protect America Act, which gives the President power to use surveillance equipment to identify terrorists. It expires on Feb. 1.
• Find new sources of energy such as bio fuels.
• Worked to provide better treatment for troops and disabled veterans.
• Expand the Parents as Teachers (P.A.T.) program.
• Secured federal funds for Missouri Sheriffs Meth-Amphetamine Relief Team (MoSMART), which is a coalition of sheriffs throughout the state that use those funds to fight Missouri’s illegal meth trade.
• Supported expansion of community health centers.     
• Worked on bi-partisan legislation with Sen. McCaskill to protect TWA air carriers.

(Ann Kutscher Comments)

• Ike Skelton is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and much of his time and energy is spent working for veterans.
• Rep. Skelton is a farm boy who is concerned about rural America, and his office is open to people who have a need. Guests are always welcome to visit the D.C. office.

(Darren Lingle Comments)

• Rep. Jo Ann Emerson is interested in preventive health care, Medicare and prescription drug overage.
• She is interested in an Energy Bill to rid the United States of its dependence on foreign fuels; however she is hesitant to support it because of some of the language that hurts the bill.
• Immigration and keeping the borders secure is another concern.
• It is difficult to get legislation passed during an election year.
• The Highway 63 project is a priority of Rep. Emerson and the TAC.
• Rep. Emerson is supportive of rural America.

(Jenni Riegel Comments)

• Rep. Hulshof is aware that transportation costs are expensive and a focus needs to be made to find new ways to fund the projects. He is looking a toll roads.
• Rep. Hulshof is working to make President’s Bush’s tax cuts permanent and for a repeal of the death tax.
• Supports tax credits for the use of alternative fuels. The energy bill is okay, but he would change some of the language.
• The Farm Bill is important to him. Nutrition and school lunches are also important.

(Miscellaneous Comments)

• Cliff Hammock voiced concern that the average credit card holder carried a debt balance of $11,000 and asked for suggestions for incentives to generate savings.
• Jenni Riegel said allowing people to keep more of their money, by lowering taxes, is an incentive to save.
• Ray Schwartze also expressed concern about the private debts of people.
• Richard Cavender noted that the younger generation do not see the importance of saving as do older people. MRPC offers staff the opportunity to invest in a 457B plan and an IRA, which are pre-taxed.  More of the older staff take advantage of that opportunity than the younger staff. MRPC also has a Cafeteria plan that allows staff to pre-tax childcare and medical expenses. Those are incentives to save. Education is important to motivate people.
• Dennis Wilson asked for comments on “No Child Left Behind.”
           Marcus Maggard—His mom and aunt are teachers and hate it.
           Paul Smith—Put control back in the hands of the local schools.
           Jordan Clothier—Local governments know what is best.
           Jenni Riegel—Schools who do not spend money properly create the problem. How do you give money and give them control?
• Randy Verkamp—asked Darren Lingle to give his appreciation to Jo Ann Emerson for her successful efforts to keep the USGS in Rolla and thanked Rep. Ike Skelton for his work on Fort Leonard Wood. 

Federal Priorities

Bonnie Prigge reported that the External Relations Committee is given the charge of reviewing federal priorities as determined by board and associate members and making a recommendation to the full board for adoption. MRPC’s chairman and director will hand-carry the final report to Washington, DC, in late February.

The External Relations Committee reviewed the list of priorities and made the following recommendations to be adopted:

• Transportation – delete #2 and #3 and keep #1.
• Economic Development – delete #1 and advance #2 and #3.
• Health Care/Social Services – combine both #1’s. Make first three 2 and keep the second 3.
• Environmental – combine #1 & 2 and advance #3.
• Education—keep #1 and delete #2.
• Local Government – delete #2 and keep #1 and #3.

Cliff Hammock made a motion to adopt the revised list of federal priorities; seconded by Mary Heywood. The motion carried

External Relations Committee

Kraig Bone reported that the External Relations Committee reviewed a proposed change to Section 4.4 of MRB’s bylaws, and recommended presenting that change to the MRB board at its next scheduled board meeting for approval.

The committee also reviewed the comments from the annual dinner survey. All in all, most of the comments were positive. Favorable comments were the dinner and speaker, veteran’s presentation and awards to volunteers. Less favorable comments were the length of program, the guest speaker and poor audio quality of the veterans presentation.

Operations

Jesse Jarvis  made a motion to approve the MRPC/MRB financial statements and MRPC/MRDC-RLF & IRP program financial statements for the period ending Dec. 31, 2007; seconded by Ray Schwartze. The motion carried.

Linda Loughridge gave highlights of the MRPC budget, which includes MRDC, IRP and RLF budgets. Ms. Loughridge noted that revenues over expenses was $22,109. The operations reserve set aside 1.5 percent of essential expenses. It surpasses its goal by $1,526.

Jesse Jarvis made a motion to approve MRPC’s revised budget and lease agreements— which includes MRDC, IRP and RLF budgets— for Fiscal Year 2007/2008; seconded by Ray Schwartze. The motion carried.  (Board action for approval of MRB’s revised budget and lease agreements will be taken at the following MRB meeting.)

Mr. Jarvis reported that the Operations Committee also reviewed federal priorities.

Planning

John Petersen reported on Planning Committee activities as follows:

• The committee discussed federal legislative priorities.
• Staff provided copies of the 2007 EDA Planning Grant Scope of Work, which was due to EDA on Dec. 28.
• The 2007 Revised Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) was due to EDA by Dec. 31 and is now posted for comment. Staff presented a copy of the complete document and a copy of the implementation plan to the planning committee for review and comment.

Grant Update

Amy McMillan gave a grant report as follows:

Upcoming Application Deadlines

• CDBG: All money under each category has been expended for fiscal year 2007. The next cycle will open April 1, 2008.
• Neighborhood Assistance Program: Tax credits for nonprofits. Construction or service delivery. March/April for the next round of credits.
• Local Records Preservation Grant SOS: Grants up to $50,000 for preservation activities (microfilming, storage, equipment related to records management)—30 percent match. March 1 deadline.
• Safe Routes to Schools Grants offered through MoDOT: Applications must be submitted on-line beginning Feb. 1 – March 31. One hard copy must be submitted with original signatures and postmarked by April 4, 2008.

Applications in Progress

• Hermann Creamery Factory—Industrial Infrastructure
• Hermann One Soy Inc.—Industrial Infrastructure
• Newburg Water Project—CDBG Water and Wastewater Grant
• Newburg Fire Station—CDBG
• Safe Routes to Schools Grant Applications: Staff will be working on applications for Salem, St. James and Bourbon in District 9 and Chamois and Hermann in District 5.
• Recently Submitted Applications
• Hermann Quiet Zone
• Preapplication to the Missouri Water and Wastewater Review Committee (MWWRC) for the Newburg Water Project

Grant Awards

Hermann Quiet Zone—was awarded $35,000 CDBG for the construction of a Quiet Zone.

Environmental Report

Tammy Snodgrass reported on environmental activities as follows:

• The ORSWMD’s state grant application was submitted in November. As of the meeting date, no word has been heard on the status of the application. Therefore, grant implementation is on hold for the 2008 fiscal year.
• The surveillance camera equipment is ready for use. However, the camera is sensitive to cold temperatures, so it would better to wait until the weather is warmer to set it up at a dump site.
• The next meeting of the ORSWMD is at 10 a.m. on Feb. 19.
• Tammy Snodgrass reported on Homeland Security activities as follows:
• FY 2007 grant applications were due in December and the committee has reviewed them. They received over $1.5 million in requests. Several projects were not funded but the group agreed to hold the unfunded applications for consideration again next year. Those applications must be compiled into the state application and submitted to SEMA by Feb. 29, 2008. The HSOC also approved the plan to purchase P25 radios and to distribute them to response agencies in the region in order to improve interoperable communication.
• There is going to be an additional round of funding for interoperable communications. The state has $800,000 available for this purpose. It will be a short turnaround because the money has to be spent by Nov. 2008. The state wants the HSOC to sign off on all applications from Region I. Ms. Snodgrass added that grant alerts will be sent out when more information is received.
• The regular HSOC quarterly meeting is scheduled for Jan. 17 at 2 p.m.
• Kraig Bone reported on emergency planning as follows:
• The MREPC met on Sept. 26. The committee reviewed training grants and awarded $3,000 to three fire departments in the region. There is still $4,000 left in the grant budget, and the next round of applications will be due Jan. 11, 2008.
• The group also discussed an e-mail, which was received from the Missouri Emergency Response Commission indicating that next year’s funding could be attached to whether or not local emergency operations plans (LEOPs) have been updated in each county. The MREPC is concerned about having its funding dependent on the update of plans that it is not responsible for and does not have the funding to carry out. The committee sent a letter to SEMA and MERC expressing their concerns.
• The next MREPC meeting will be held at noon on Jan. 23.
• NIMS-400 class will be held from 8-5, Jan. 30 through Jan. 31. (Class was canceled due to limited sign-ups.)

Business Loans

Tom Klebba reported on business loan activities as follows:

• The next scheduled full board meeting of the MRDC will be held at noon on Jan. 16 at MRPC.
• There is one SBA 504/IRP loan for an auto and truck parts business in St. James that will be closing in January. An SBA 504 loan for a motel in St. Robert is scheduled to close in February.
• MRPC, MRDC and the city of Hermann are sponsoring a business financing workshop at the Hermann City Hall and Community Center on Jan. 23 from 1 – 3 p.m. Presenters are Jay Edwards, a senior area manager for SBA; and Maria Kardon and Candace Connell from MRPC. Those interested may contact Maria at MRPC or Jay Gourley at Hermann City Hall. There is no charge to attend the workshop.
• There are two vacancies on MRDC’s board—one in Maries County, and one in Crawford County to replace Pete Lea who has resigned.
• The IRP and the RLF funds are loaned out. MRDC will be looking at recapitalizing the IRP through USDA and will discuss using a state tax credit program for matching funds.
• Since Candace Connell has resigned to take a position with the city of St. James, MRPC is accepting resumes to fill that position, which is a community development/business loans specialist.

Director’s Report

Richard Cavender reported as follows:

• MRPC has three vacancies—secretary for the housing department, community development /business loans specialist and environmental programs specialist.
• Richard Cavender and Bonnie Prigge attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Rightway Remanufactured Homes on Dec. 21 in Salem. The business occupies the building formerly used by the Daisy Corporation, which went overseas. Rightway reconditions used mobile homes to sell.
• MRPC received word of the death of Ray Cassidy, director of field operations and rapid response coordinator for the Central Workforce Investment Board (C-WIB). Mr. Cassidy was injured by a bull while feeding cattle on his farm at Cherryville. He frequently attended MRPC’s monthly board meetings and was recently appointed to the MCEC board.
• The MS&T Engineering Management class, under the leadership of Professor Karl Burgher, is working with the cities of Potosi and Vienna to identify problems to distressed communities. 
• Richard Cavender is serving on a Governor’s Internet Task Force to look at ways to ensure that rural areas have access to high speed internet services.

Adjourn

The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.

_______________________________________     
Robert Reed, Chairman

     
_______________________________________     
Russell Scheulen, Secretary