Commissioners hope for a good start to the summer tourist season

Ozark County Commissioners said at their weekly meeting Monday that they hope Ozark County outfitters and other businesses will see a good start to tourist season this Memorial Day weekend. “This will be kind of a test to see how the season is going to be,” said western district commissioner Greg Donley.
Local sales tax was down 32 percent last month compared with the same time last year, and the county’s sales tax revenue is down 13 percent for the year. The commissioners said the cool weather this spring likely had an impact on tourism dollars, a major source of revenue for the county.
As expected, the commission voted to accept Gainesville School’s proposal to act as a “pass-through” for a Community Development Block Grant that, if awarded, will fund the construction of a stand-alone preschool building. The South Central Ozarks Council of Governments will assist with writing the application and administering the grant, if awarded. The county’s responsibilities will include paperwork and writing checks.
The arrangement would be similar to previous pass-through Community Development Block Grants used by  the Ozark County Food Pantry and the Pontiac Price Place Volunteer Fire Department.
The commissioners said it’s also possible that CDBG funds will be available to assist the county with hazard mitigation, improving roads and bridges to make them more resilient in future flood events.
In other business, the commission approved the purchase of two John Deere 770GP graders from Murphy Tractor of Springfield. The graders are priced at $248,103.64 each, but trading in two old graders will offset the cost significantly, commissioners said. Payments will be $35,000 a year for five years, after which the county will own the two graders. The commissioners said the county has had good experience with the 770GPs it currently owns. “We know what we’ve got and how it’s working” said Donley. The new graders should be ready around Aug. 1.
The “Clean Up Trash” dumpster that was placed at the Ozark County Recycling Center for roadside and river trash was mistakenly picked up early by WCA, which had donated its use to the county. However, a new dumpster was brought in and will remain in place through the end of May.
 

Ozark County Times

504 Third Steet
PO Box 188
Gainesville, MO 65655

Phone: (417) 679-4641
Fax: (417) 679-3423