SCOTT CITY, KELSO EXCLUDED FROM 911

BENTON -- The Scott County Commission has decided to ignore its contract with Scott City in proceeding with an Enhanced 911 System with New Madrid County.

A clause in a contract, signed in November, gave Scott City 20 percent representation on a joint 911 advisory committee.

Scott City Mayor Larry Forhan said he was disappointed Tuesday afternoon that the county was ignoring the contract and didn't want a representative from Scott City on the advisory committee.

"We have a contract with the county," Forhan said. "It's a shame the commissioners did not want to appoint that one person to the committee."

Any action the city takes would be up to the council, he said.

Scott City protected its own E-911 system by securing the November contract, Forhan said.

Without the contract, Scott City would not have been able to collect for its system when the county started collecting the 911 telephone surcharge, the mayor said.

The commission agreed Tuesday to honor part of the contract that excludes Scott City and Kelso residents from paying the telephone surcharge of 15 percent. Collections from those residents will continue to fund Scott City's 911 system, which went on line in November 1993.

New Madrid County assistant prosecutor Lewis Recker, County Clerk Jim Farrenburg and Associate Commissioner Robert Hedgepeth met with the Scott County commissioners. Recker has worked on the two-county agreement since early February.

Recker said Scott County needed to decide the representation issue before an agreement could be reached. And, the New Madrid representatives said the contract hassle was between Scott City and the county.

Hedgepeth said he wanted Scott City in the new two-county system to make it better, but if the city decided not to participate, then it shouldn't have a representative on the advisory committee.

Walter Bizzell, Scott County commissioner from Sikeston, said he didn't think Scott City should be on the advisory committee if the city was not part of the new system.

Joe Spalding, Scott County commissioner from Benton, said the commission originally thought there would be 12 to 15 members on a 911 advisory committee so giving Scott City 20 percent wasn't considered important.

Presiding Commissioner Bob Kielhofner said the commission should appoint whom it wanted to the advisory committee and ignore Scott City's representation because it isn't part of the system, adding that the plans are to establish the best possible 911 service for county residents.

Recker said Scott City could sue the county for breach of contract, but he didn't know if the representation clause was binding.

The Scott County Commission appointed four committee representatives, the same as New Madrid County.

Scott County's representatives on the advisory committee are Mike Westrich, chief of the NBC Fire Department serving the rural areas around New Hamburg, Benton and Commerce; Drew Juden, division commander with the Sikeston Department of Safety; Brad Hahn of Benton, a maintenance specialist for the telecommunications department at Southeast Missouri State University; and Bill Holmes, a rural Oran farmer who uses computers extensively in his operation. Two will serve two-year terms and two will serve for four years.

The Scott County Commission and New Madrid County representatives agreed that a county commissioner from one of the counties should be a ninth member on the advisory committee, serving a one-year term. They agreed that New Madrid County would hold the position for the first year. Hedgepeth said he would probably serve in that position.

The group discussed having plans ready July 1 to implement the 15 percent surcharge on basic telephone bills. They decided to wait on a recommendation from the new advisory committee on when the surcharge should begin. The counties will have 27 months to implement a 911 system after that.