Panel, Jones split on offices

Some members of the Cape Girardeau County Road and Bridge Advisory Board favor consolidating the highway department's office space. But in a few seconds of audio recorded during a Feb. 6 drive from Cape Girardeau to Jefferson City, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones appears dead-set against the idea.

In the recording, Jones engages in a verbal battle with 2nd District Commissioner Jay Purcell over Purcell's suggestion to reorganize office space for the county's highway department. In the course of the argument, Jones adds that he and 1st District Commissioner Larry Bock, the county's road and bridge commissioner, could dissolve the advisory board.

Jones and Purcell share an office on the second floor of the County Administration Building in Jackson. The office next door is shared by the county's highway administrator, Scott Bechtold, and an administrative assistant.

Purcell has repeatedly asked Jones and Bock to consider consolidating the three county highway offices into one. The move would include a stipulation that at least one of the four workers be available during office hours to help property owners with questions on paving, easements or other road and bridge issues.

In the recording, Purcell tells Jones the county's road and bridge advisory board can help the county become more efficient and they resume arguing over the office space issue.

"All I want to do is suggest they be put in one room. And the thing is, if [Bock] disagrees and you disagree, well then, so be it. Why are you so afraid of a debate? That's all I'm saying," Purcell says.

"Debate over that room?" Jones asks.

"Yeah," Purcell said.

"Why would we want to debate that, when I'm not moving?" Jones asks.

Purcell starts to speak but is interrupted.

"Do you know how quick that could be dissolved?" Jones says.

"Well, why would you ..." Purcell starts.

"When I change my mind," Jones says. "Because [Bock] would like to get rid of it right now. He never did want it."

Larry Payne, chairman of the road and bridge advisory board, said he'd heard stories circulating that "Bock would prefer not to have to deal with the road and bridge advisory board." Payne said Bock has never made any statements to that effect directly to any board members.

Purcell's suggestion to create a customer service counter for the highway administration has never been formally presented to the advisory board, Payne said.

Three members of the board, Ken Evans, Billy Hahs and the county's former auditor, Weldon Macke, are also candidates for Bock's commission seat. Neither they nor Bock was available to comment on the recording.

Bock has announced he will not seek re-election; his term ends Dec. 31.

Not all of the 11 road and bridge board members were aware of Purcell's office space suggestion. Those who were say it's a good idea.

"One of the things we're finding is some of the stuff was signed and never recorded. That's one of the biggest skeletons we're finding," said board member David Blumenberg. He said a property owner recently related having visited one of the three county highway offices looking for an easement, but the paperwork was in another office and couldn't be found.

Road and bridge board members are not paid for their time, said board member George M. Miller. The board met weekly after being formed nearly two years ago and has met monthly in the last year. He said board members are working hard to get as many roads paved as quickly as possible but is hampered by inefficiencies in the county's highway office.

"We're the only first-class county in the state that doesn't have the majority of their roads hard surfaced," said Miller, a district manager for Anheuser-Busch. "We've had things turned in repeatedly more than once by landowners on a county road. We've had duplication and triplication of efforts. It's senseless. In my line of work, if I lost things repeatedly, I'd lose my job."

The county road and bridge advisory board meets next at 7 p.m. June 2 in the County Administration Building.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127

Audio: The power to dissolve county road and bridge advisory board

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