Outdated jail, Oak Hill improvements on the ballot

• Dent County has been struggling to make ends meet with its nearly 40-year-old facility. The jail is designed for 21 inmates and in 2016 averaged 46, a safety concern for inmates and staff. As a result the county has had to find, use and pay other county jails to house inmates, which cost more than $100,000 in 2016. Additional costs for housing inmates outside of Dent County include gas, manpower and transportation expenses for court appearances.

There are two proposed half-cent sales taxes appearing on the April 4 ballot. Proposition 1, which has a 21-year sunset, is for the construction of a new 84-bed jail. Proposition 2 would be ongoing to fund the continuing operating costs of the new jail.

There is ample opportunity to learn more about the proposal. A second public forum will be held 6-8 p.m. March 30 in the courtroom of the Dent County Judicial Building, 112 East Fifth Street. Information boards are in place at The Bank of Salem, Town & Country Bank, US Bank, Progressive Ozark Bank and Riverways Federal Credit Union. Boards are also at the Salem Public Library, Southwest Baptist University and the Salem Community Center @ the Armory. Brochures with information on the project are available at these locations as well as Salem MFA, the county’s webpage at www.salemmo.com and thesalemnewsonline.com. The brochure will be inserted in the March 28 edition of The Salem News.

The estimated cost for the jail is $11 million.

County officials have stated that the two, half-cent sales taxes are dependent upon each other, so if one does not pass the other is instantly nullified.

The commission voted unanimously Jan. 22 to put the two, half-cent sales taxes up for a vote, to repay leasehold revenue bonds. Sales tax funding means that nonresident visitors help pay for the new jail, since over 50 percent of the county sales tax revenue is generated from visitors to the county.

• Speaking of eroded conditions, the Oak Hill R-I Board of Education voted to place Proposition 1 on the ballot, asking patrons to support a levy increase to fund improvements to school facilities. The current tax levy for Oak Hill R-I is $3.0850 per $100 of assessed value. Proposition 1 would increase the levy to $3.43, an increase of $0.3450.

A modular unit at the rear of the main building was identified as “structurally unsound.” The board decided the most economically responsible solution was an on-site building project, the new structure to be a stud-wall wooden framed structure with sheet metal roof and siding.

Other concerns are the energy inefficiency of 56-year-old exterior windows and doors as well as 56-year-old heating systems that are costing the district each year in the form of high energy bills and repairs.

Proposition 1 would provide the funding necessary to make the building more energy efficient through the installation of new insulated windows and doors as well as replace the current HVAC units with high efficiency central heating and air conditioning units.

Proposition 1 is for improvements to facilities only. Revenue from this increase will be earmarked for Capital Projects only. The board voted to include a 10-year sunset clause in the ballot language. The $0.345 increase to the levy will go away after the 2026 tax year.

• Two Salem and Bunker aldermen positions are up for grabs, as well as school and hospital board positions.

Running for reelection in Salem’s East Ward is Dr. Haydn Powell Jr., and he is challenged by Jerry (Jay) Gibbs. Chad Heithold is the West Ward incumbent and is opposed by Gene Baker. In Bunker, voters will choose two aldermen among Betty Wisdom, Patricia (Houston) Rowland and Amanda McGruder.

• There is a race to fill a two-year vacancy on the Salem Memorial District Hospital Board, with incumbent George Gruendel facing Sheri Green. A six-year-term is up for grabs, with Susan Terry and Willie Strader running for that spot.