HERMANN — Renovations needed at the First Assembly of God Church has prompted Gasconade County Clerk Lesa Lietzow to find another polling place for Owensville’s Ward 1 voters.

She advised the County Commission Thursday morning that the new polling place will be the Seasons of Faith Fellowship, formerly the Grand Plaza building.

The county clerk said First Assembly of God officials advised her that repairs were not expected to be finished in time for the August Primary Elections and perhaps not by the November General Elections. Therefore, another polling place was needed fairly quickly. She was able to secure Seasons of Faith Fellowship.

“They have agreed we can vote there,” she said during last week’s regular Commission session.

Also on the elections front, Lietzow said her office will soon begin a push to recruit poll workers. Polling places must have an equal number of Republican and Democrat election judges, usually two each; but at some polling places in November, Lietzow noted, there likely will be three judges representing each major political party.

“I have to do a major publicity campaign to get people to work at the polls,” she told county administrators. She said her office will be making announcements in the newspapers and issuing a direct-mail request for poll workers.

In other matters during last week’s session, the Commission reappointed Northern District Associate Commissioner Jim Holland, R-Hermann, as the county’s representative to the Ozarks Region Solid Waste Board of Directors. That organization oversees solid waste collection and reduction efforts in the region and allocates funds for projects aimed at reducing solid waste and extending the life of landfills.

Callabyte, the county’s internet services provider, has alerted county officials to the company’s effort to extend services beyond the city limits. Callabyte advised the Commission that it plans work along Sand Plant Road and Boy Scout Road.

In a move catching county administrators by surprise, a state government agency has said Gasconade County was deemed ineligible to apply for future Community Development Bloc Grant (CDBG) money because grant dollars issued to Public Water Supply District 1 was not used by the end of March. The CDBG money was coupled with other funds to finance an expansion of the water system serving Peaceful Valley Subdivision. Indeed, Lietzow noted that the project so far has been funded primarily with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money received from the county.

Efforts are continuing to upgrade county government’s computer network. Dan Mercer with AQM, the county’s information technology provider, is scheduled to be at the courthouse Thursday, May 30, to meet with officeholders regarding their departments’ computer systems.

“Hopefully, he’ll be here to meet everyone to do a walk-through and see what they need to do,” Lietzow said.

After that on-site visit, Mercer will draft specifications for hardening the computer network. The County Commission will consider Mercer’s proposal and then decide on seeking bids for putting the plan in place.

A new member has joined the Gasconade County Opioid Settlement Committee. Hermann Middle School Counselor Mary Beth Schwenk has replaced Hermann High School Counselor Alyssa Creech, who, it was learned after her appointment recently, is not a resident of the county. The committee is scheduled to meet for the first time tomorrow morning at the conclusion of the Commission session.

The committee will advise the County Commission regarding the allocation of the county’s share of settlement funds resulting from the class-action lawsuit brought several years ago against the manufacturers and distributors of opioid-based medications as a way to deal with the growing opioid addiction across the nation. According to state government figures, Gasconade County is among the counties with a high rate of opioid medication use.

Some members of the panel have said they will not be able to make the first meeting, but Presiding Commissioner Tim Schulte, R-Hermann, said those absent can be brought up to speed quickly enough after the initial meeting, not wanting to delay the start of the committee’s work.

“We’ve got to get the ball rolling,” he said.

Currently, the county has received more than $60,000 in settlement funds. There is not expected to be a lot of settlement money to allocate; during the next 16 years of the settlement payment schedule, Gasconade County is estimated to receive about another $60,000.