County sets project priorities

The Howell County Commission discussed project priorities for the year during a public hearing last week. They also experienced a slight panic earlier this week concerning the federal loans and grants fiasco. 

The county government had a scare earlier this week when after a memo from the Trump Administration announced the freezing of federal grants and loans. The confusion was widespread among government entities, on local as well as federal levels, with many local programs, such as road & bridge, sheriff's offices, and many assistance programs potentially being impacted. Trent Courtney with SCOCOG told the commission it would have affected their budget by $200,000. Courtney said one of his worries was about ongoing projects with EDA (Economic Development Administration) funds, noting owing one construction company over $400,000. “It was scary. We had a lot of phone calls,” said County Clerk Kelly Waggoner. The scare was short-lived as Federal District Judge Loren AliKhan granted a temporary block on the order on Tuesday afternoon, and the memo was rescinded by the Trump Administration on Wednesday.

 

The South Central Council of Governments, SCOCOG, met with the commission and Mountain View Mayor Charry McCann and West Plains Transportation Director Brian Mitchell on Thursday to help line out the county's priorities for multi-modal and road & bridge grant applications in a public hearing. SCOCOG will be holding their semi-annual meeting with county leaders on April 15 and the organization hopes to have an idea what may be brought up and voted on.

 

Howell County had eighteen items listed for consideration and added a few items during the meeting. Topping the list for road & bridge projects was safety improvements for the Route CC and Highway 63 intersection in West Plains. This intersection is notorious for traffic crashes, with many leading to injuries, some fatal. Second on this list was constructing a roundabout at Business 63 South Junction near Love's Truck Stop in Willow Springs.

 

The top multi-modal issue was the construction of an ADA compliant sidewalk along Business 63/Broadway in West Plains. The other six issues were all given second place priority. The county commission did say they would vote in favor of adding safety restrictions at US 60 & T Highway in Shannon County, as this project would affect Howell County students who attend Liberty High School. 

 

The Howell County Commissioners are Presiding Commissioner Ralph Riggs, Northern Commissioner Calvin Wood, and Southern Commissioner Bruce Williams. The commission meets in regular session on Mondays and Thursdays, from 10 am to 3:30 pm. The meetings remain open during the lunch hour and are open to the public. Contact the commissioners' chamber by phone at (417) 256-3872.