St. Francois County commissioners approve budgeted excavator purchase, change order and routine requests

St. Francois County commissioners approved several routine procurement and administrative items during their regular meeting, including a budgeted purchase of a Kubota excavator for the Road and Bridge department and a change order for a bridge paving contract.

The commission voted to allow Road and Bridge to buy a Kubota excavator through Sourcewell for $85,986.36, a budgeted item the department said will help with storm cleanup and ongoing maintenance. Commissioners also approved Change Order No. 3 for capital paving related to the Berry Road Bridge for $17,334.97; staff clarified the payment had already been made and the vote updates paperwork for state accounting rather than adding a new expense.

The assessor received authorization to solicit bids for printing and mailing assessment notices under the county—s routine procurement process; the office typically runs a three-year contract for postcard mailings. The consent agenda, which included approval of meeting minutes and an appointment order naming Ethan Wadllo to a patrol sheriff—s promotion (appointment details on file), was approved by voice vote earlier in the session.

Board members framed the procurement votes as maintenance of essential services: Road and Bridge staff reported that older excavators have incurred repeated repair costs and that having an additional machine will assist with cleanups after storms. No roll-call vote tallies were recorded in the transcript; motions were passed by voice vote.

The meeting adjourned after the routine business concluded; commissioners said they would return with more details on several follow-up items, including private-road signage for ambulance district inclusion.