Franklin County Commission approves road vacation, dispatching agreement and multiple routine orders

The Franklin County Commission on Tuesday, Jan. 7, approved a series of routine orders including the vacation of a subdivision road, a dispatching agreement with the City of New Haven and a $451,953.90 allocation from road-and-bridge funds to the city of Pacific, Mo.

The actions came under a single block of unanimous procedural votes after staff presented each item. The commission identified the road in the vacation petition as Stickney Street; the commission approved the petition to vacate the subdivision road as presented.

Why it matters: The approvals finalize administrative and intergovernmental arrangements that affect public services (dispatching), local budgets (road-and-bridge funds) and property records (road vacation and tax adjustments).

Votes at a glance: the commission approved the following items during the Jan. 7 meeting.

- Commission Order 2025-06 — Vacation of subdivision road (Stickney Street). Motion to approve recorded and carried. Petitioner named Miss Charlene Cox. Outcome: approved. (Motion/second not specified in the transcript; ayes recorded.)

- Commission Order 2025-07 — Agreement for dispatching services with the City of New Haven. Jeff Titter, communications director, explained the county will provide dispatching services to New Haven as that city reestablishes a police department; the item was approved. Outcome: approved. (Motion by Commissioner Cox; second by Commissioner Oberschmidt for approval noted later in the meeting.)

- Commission Order 2025-08 — Establish 2025 per diem and travel reimbursement rates for Franklin County. Annual update tied to federal guidance; approved. Outcome: approved.

- Commission Order 2025-09 — Adjustment of tax charges on the 2024 personal property tax book and prior years, as presented by Doug Trentman, collector of revenue for Franklin County. Outcome: approved.

- Commission Order 2025-10 — Award of special road-and-bridge funds to the city of Pacific, Mo., in the amount of $451,953.90. Outcome: approved.

- Commission Order 2025-11 — Consent agenda: (1) approval of a liquor license for the St. Clair Marathon, and (2) the auditor’s year-end financial report for December 2024. Outcome: approved.

What commissioners said: The recorded votes were taken by voice; the transcript shows commissioners saying “aye” and the chair declaring each motion approved. Specific motion makers were not consistently named in the record for every item; where a motion-maker/second was captured, the transcript records motions by Commissioner Cox and seconds by Commissioner Oberschmidt on multiple items.

Details and clarifications: Miss Charlene Cox is listed in the record as the petitioner for the road vacation; the transcript notes a typographical correction to the street name (Stickney, not “Stucney” or “Stuck Knee”) before the vacation petition was approved. Jeff Titter described the dispatch agreement as the standard contract the county uses when it provides dispatching; he said the agreement helps coordinate deputies with New Haven’s returning police department. Doug Trentman presented the tax-adjustment item as the collector of revenue for Franklin County. The auditor’s report was presented as the routine year-end financial report for December 2024.

No recorded objections: Each motion was carried by voice vote with “ayes” recorded; the transcript does not contain roll-call tallies or recorded “no” votes for the listed items.

Next steps: The approved orders will be executed per county procedure; the dispatching agreement and the road-and-bridge payment will be processed by the appropriate county offices as part of routine implementation.