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FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2021
TRENTON
R-T REPUBLICAN-TIMES 75¢
©W.B. Rogers Printing Co., Inc.
Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 157th Year - No. 42
14 PAGES, 2 SECTIONS + 1 INSERT
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Deficit Budget Promises Several Improvements Commissioners Approve 2021 Budget, 3-0
R-T Photo/Seth Herrold
SNOW DAY(S) A MODOT snow plow cruises into Trenton clearing Highway 6 on Wednesday morning. Snow and tough road conditions led to snow days at Trenton R-9 and area schools on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Dual Credit Giving NCMC Big Boost High School Students Have College’s Enrollment Up Over Five Percent From ’20
Spring enrollment at North Central Missouri College is up over last spring if you count high school dual credit students, according to information presented at a meeting of college trustees on Tuesday. NCMC President Dr. Lenny Klaver presented the numbers during his report, noting that although enrollment is currently up 5.26 percent in head count and .09 percent in credit hours, that number
would be dismal if not for the high school students enrolled in dual credit classes. Excluding those students, enrollment is down 12.59 percent in head count and 6.57 percent in credit hours. Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Tristan Londre told trustees that there are now 41 high schools with students taking classes through NCMC, including four new schools added this spring. Dr. Londre also updated the board on the Higher Learning Commission reaccreditation process, which will occur this year. The HLC team will visit Trenton on Sept. 19-22 and will be on campus a portion of that time. He outlined for board members the steps that are being taken to prepare for the visit. Later in the meeting he presented information concerning the
Hazard Mitigation Plan, with the board approving a resolution to adopt the plan, which makes the college eligible for hazard mitigation funding when available. The board heard a report from Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Kristen Alley, who discussed the distribution of CARES Act funding and said Homecoming activities will be held on Saturday, Feb. 27. She also announced that at this time in-person graduation is being planned, with Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn being named as the speaker for the morning ceremony and Dr. Davin Turner of Mosaic scheduled to speak at the afternoon ceremony, which is for those in the allied health program. She told trustees that a social worker is now [See NCMC, Page 3]
The 2021 Grundy County Budget is ugly. There’s nothing pretty about a budget that predicts a $1.1 million deficit. But if there’s a silver lining, it’s that if all the budgeted projects get done this year, county residents will be able to see improvements in many areas, in particular public safety and infrastructure. The budget, which was formally adopted Tuesday morning on a 3-0 vote, shows total anticipated revenues of $5,736,634. That sounds like a lot of money until you look at expenditures, which total $6,928,813. If you do the math, that adds up to a deficit of $1,192,179. Adding in a carry-over from 2020 of $3,910,220.81, the county expects to end 2021 with a fund balance of $2,718,041.81. The three county commissioners - Presiding Commissioner Phillip Ray, First District Commissioner Don Sager and Second District Commissioner Brad Chumbley - stressed during last week’s budget hearing that there’s no joy in approving a deficit budget. But traditionally revenues are budgeted low and expenditures are budgeted
high so for many years Grundy County has predicted a deficit budget and officials were pleasantly surprised when they ended the year with a surplus. What helped in 2020 is that two bridges that had been budgeted didn’t get built, the courtroom remodeling project didn’t happen and jury trial and election expenses that were anticipated didn’t end up being spent. But all that did was push some of those expenses down the road to 2021. Now there are three bridges to build (two by the county crew), a courtroom and courthouse that need some repairs and a new 911 system that is budgeted at around $400,000 to replace equipment that was put in when the Grundy County Law Enforcement Center was constructed in 2007. County employees are slated to receive a 50-cent per hour pay increase, with elected officials to receive a 2 percent increase. With the corresponding adjustment in FICA, the total cost is approximately $192,512. That would bring all county employees up to a minimum starting salary of $10.30, with the exception of road and bridge employees, who would start at $12.30. The expense is worth the cost, according to commissioners, if they want to continue to attract and retain quality employees. Below are the county’s major funds, with the funds available to begin 2021, ex[See BUDGET, Page 3]
Nine Structures Set To Come Down City Council Accepts Bid For Demolitions
R-T Photo/Wendell Lenhart
Some Grundy County residents who fall in the right categories have been fortunate enough to receive the COVID19 vaccine, including Calvin Brown, who received one from Val Kirby at a clinic at the Grundy County Health Department on Thursday morning. GCHD Administrator Elizabeth Gibson said 100 doses have been given to those who fall in the state’s Phase IA group (long-term care facility residents and staff and patient-facing healthcare workers), with 130 doses scheduled to be given Thursday and Friday to those in Phase 1B (high-risk individuals, those over 65, first responders and essential workers). Ms. Gibson said she is working with the Regional Implementation Team for Region H on several large-scale clinics to be held in the coming weeks. COVID-19 active cases in Grundy County stand at 40 as of Thursday morning (down from 47 on Monday), with 1,008 total cases (up from 998), which includes 777 confirmed cases (an increase of five) and 231 probable cases (an increase of five). The county has recorded a total of 35 deaths attributed to the virus, which is an increase of two from what was reported on Monday.
Nine delapidated structures are set to be demolished this year after the Trenton City Council accepted a bid from a Kidder company at Monday evening’s meeting. On the recommendation of the Building and Nuisance Board, the demolition bid for 2021 was awarded to Red Rock at a cost of $42,000 for the demolition of nine structures. The company had submitted a base bid of $43,400, approximately $20,000 less than bids submitted by Spalding Constructors and Perkins Dozing. Since he was awarded the bid for all nine properties, the discount will be applied, bringing the cost to $42,000. The properties slated for demolition this year include 200 W. Seventh St., owned by Karen Todd; 114 W. Fifth St., owned by John Moore; 403 Jefferson St., owned by Mike Airey; 213 W. Sixth St., owned by Bob Lewis; 1311 Gilmore St., owned by Randy Schroeder; 1701 Chestnut St., owned by Aaron Bright; 1721 Lulu St., owned by Vern Jenkins; 2012 Oak St., owned by Jody Hadley; and 911 Kumler St., owned by Cale Gondringer. Property owners will pay a portion of
the cost, totaling $19,050, with the exception of the property at 1721 Lulu St., which will be covered by the city. The city had budgeted $30,000 for the entire demolition project, with that cost coming in at $25,900 so the $4,100 needed for the Lulu Street property abatement will bring the cost up to the exact amount budgeted. If there is a cost for hazardous materials abatement, that will be paid for by the property owner. Seven properties were on the 2020 demolition list. The council approved a bid from Shuler Concrete of Trenton for repairs to be made to the pavement at the fire station. The base bid, which was for $22,947.44 was the lowest of four bids received. Even with an alternate bid of $2,626 for cleaning and sealing the existing joints on the north apron, Shuler’s bid was still lower than the base bid submitted by Kramer Con-struction of $25,777.32. Spalding Construction submitted a bid of $28,758.96 and MTS Construction submitted a bid of $42,011.32. In other business, the council heard a request from Adam Clear to consider reconciling the city ordinance concerning exotic/dangerous animals with state statute. Clear’s interest is in the allowed length of snakes, with the city ordinance setting the limit at six feet and state statute setting it at eight feet. Another area that doesn’t match is with which agencies an animal [See COUNCIL, Page 3]
Building And Nuisance Board Recommends Demo, Hears Updates The Trenton Building and Nuisance Board met Monday evening, giving approval to a contractor for the 2021 Demolition Project (see city council story) and hearing updates on properties. The board voted to recommend Red Rock be awarded the bid for the demolition of nine properties at a total cost of $42,000, after a discount provided for being awarded the entire project. Duane Lahn and Mark Koenig, owners of 604 Linn St. appeared before the board to provide an update on that property, which they are fixing up to be used as a rental. They were given a 30-day extension to make improvements. Code Enforcement Officer Wes Barone said he has spoken with Shane Michael concerning the old freight house on Laclede Street and said he feels there are good plans in place for cleaning it up. Michael was given a 60-day extension to complete the work. The property at 1000 Rural St., owned by Smartbeltz LLC was moved to Findings of Fact and property at 1117 Main St., owned by John Woodland was moved from Findings of Fact to Certificate of Existence of a Dangerous Build[See NUISANCES, Page 3]
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
PIRATES ENCOUNTER ROUGH WATERS...
There’s a 90 percent chance of rain on Saturday with snow possible. Sunday and Monday show a return to clear skies with highs in the upper 30’s. The high at Trenton Monday was 33 with 2.6 inches of snow. Tuesday’s high was 28 with 0.4 of an inch of snow and Wednesday’s high was 29 with a low of 16 and 1.9 more inches of snow. The high Wednesday at the Government Weather Station near Spickard was 26 with a low of 0.
The North Central Missouri College basketball teams had a tough time at Mineral Area Community College on Tuesday afternoon as the women fell 72-64 and the men suffered a 9165 loss. SPORTS, PAGE 2
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