County OKs public works director overseeing highway department

The Cape Girardeau County Commission voted 2-1 during its Thursday meeting for the public works director to oversee the county highway department.

Effective immediately, public works director Don McQuay will assume that additional duty. The move will ease an increasing workload on county highway engineer Scott Bechtold, said 1st District Commissioner Paul Koeper, who presented the proposal during the meeting.

"After nine months into office I see how Scott can get bogged down," Koeper said. "I don't want to take on another person.

"I see our public works director capable of putting it all together during this time of transition," Koeper said. "Scott would look to this as a blessing. For years and years he's gotten calls all night long, so it will take a load off him."

McQuay will be under the oversight of all three commissioners, Koeper said. He will not receive a raise this year but could in 2010.

"It would require a raise next year to take on duties we're asking," Koeper said. "He'd be more on duty 24 hours a day. I'm not asking for a big increase, but it's justifiable."

2nd District Commissioner Jay Purcell thanked Koeper for thinking outside the box and had no problem with McQuay answering to all three commissioners. But Purcell said shifting the duties instead of eliminating positions is an unwise move considering the economic hardships facing taxpayers. Purcell said he had planned on eliminating several positions in the future, which he believes would save the county thousands of dollars.

Purcell asked if the vote could have been delayed a couple of months to come up with an alternate plan.

"Give me the opportunity to give the ideas I have and how I can save the citizens of Cape Girardeau County some money," Purcell said. "I'm just talking about a couple of months."

Later, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones yielded the floor for public comment.

Pat Wissman of Cape Girardeau County asked if Purcell could be given two weeks to come up with a proposal.

"I'll give you two weeks," Koeper told Purcell. "Can you come up with something in two weeks?"

Jones said he wasn't willing to wait two weeks.

"Everything that comes up, he delays it," Jones said of Purcell. "I'm ready to vote."

Earlier in the meeting the commission awarded a $420,000 bid to Langford Mechanical of Jackson for HVAC renovations at the county jail.

The HVAC system includes a hot water boiler for heating and chillers to provide cooling. Hot and chilled water would be pumped through the building to each of the six air handlers that circulates air for heating and cooling the jail.

A decision on awarding the bid was delayed the past three consecutive meetings while the commissioners evaluated whether county maintenance workers could perform some of the work. The work by county employees is expected to save about $50,000.

Project engineer Tom Strickland said the delay shouldn't significantly affect the project's completion date. Originally scheduled for late December, the project will now be complete in early January, Strickland said.

The measure passed 2-1, with Purcell objecting. Purcell said his main concerns were time constraints on the project and quality of work.

In other action, the commission:

* Approved the final contract of a $177,649 grant to combat homelessness. The grant is the first stimulus funding the county has directly received.

* Approved the purchase of 911 satellite phones.

* Approved transmission repairs on a 2003 GMC truck mower.

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628