Community meeting held for Shafer Road

By Shari Harris, Publisher

Nearly 50 people attended the Shafer Road meeting at the Licking Senior Center on Thursday, April 18. District 143 State Representative Bennie Cook announced that $2 million in funding for Shafer Road repairs had been included in the House bill for the upcoming fiscal year’s state budget. The bill, HB 2004, is currently making its way through the Senate. Cook joined other speakers at the meeting to discuss Shafer Road.

Citizens who live along Shafer Road and other members of the community, Texas County associate commissioners Robert Ross and John Casey, Licking Mayor Keith Cantrell, Rep. Cook, District 155 State Representative Travis Smith, and representatives from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) attended the meeting.

Larry Wrest, a property owner on Shafer Road, opened the meeting with a prayer. Wrest urged all citizens to contact Rep. Cook, Sen. Karla Eslinger, representatives and senators who are involved in the budget process, and Governor Parsons, to share their concerns and express their support for keeping Shafer Road funding in the budget.

Several people spoke about the impact on the community of Shafer Road’s disrepair.

A letter from Brian Friend, owner of Friend Lumber Company, said that they make daily deliveries using Shafer Road, and the route is unsafe and hard on their trucks.

Licking R-8 School Bus Driver Karen Miller reported she is on the road twice each day, and it damages her bus and is rough for the children. Licking R-8 Superintendent Telena Haneline indicated the district spends thousands of dollars each year on bus repairs, and they have rerouted several of their buses to avoid Shafer Road.

Licking Rural Fire Department Chief Aaron Greathouse spoke about emergency responses along Shafer Road or connecting roads. The road is critical for a timely response by the fire department and EMS services. Currently emergency vehicles risk severe damage, which hinders their response.

A citizen reported a visitor from another state had just stopped at his house due to getting a flat tire from driving on the route.

Pastor Rick Mosher reported their church van travels the route to pick up kids for church, and he feels it is dangerous for vehicles and passengers.

A property owner measured two potholes between Buckner Road and Ed Green Realty which are two to three feet across and 9 – 9.5 inches deep. Several expressed concern that the edges of the roadway have crumbled and most people are forced to travel in the middle of the road. Tractor trailers come out of the nursery and from agri-businesses on connecting roads, and drivers are forced to get over if they meet them, regardless of the road condition.

Gerald Ross, who is on the Shafer Cemetery Board, shared that much has changed since MoDOT turned the road over to Sherrill Township for maintenance in 1962. More residences are along the road, and many more are along gravel roads that feed into it. The Missouri Conservation Commission has expanded the nursery since that time as well.

Rep. Bennie Cook thanked House Budget Committee Chairman Representative Cody Smith (District 163) and Assoc. Commissioner Robert Ross for their assistance in “finding” $2 million in the state budget for the repair of Shafer Road. During Ross’ time as a representative, he served on the Budget Committee, and his experience was invaluable in helping Cook with this endeavor.

Cook affirmed that if the $2 million Shafer Road project remains on the budget through the Senate and is approved by Governor Parsons, that MoDOT would have to spend the funds on Shafer Road, not on other projects. If the money isn’t entirely spent in the fiscal year, Cook indicated that it shouldn’t be difficult to get funds reappropriated in the next budget once the project has started.

Assoc. Commissioner Ross said the township did what it had to do, allowing their maintenance of the road to lapse and returning the road to state control. He added that Sherrill Township can not afford to maintain Shafer Road in the future either.

Rep. Travis Smith recognized the FFA students and school staff who came to the Capitol to speak about Shafer Road, and thanked everyone for coming and for the work they did in creating a video of a school bus ride along the road at 40 mph.

MoDOT Deputy Director/Chief Engineer Ed Hassinger spoke and fielded questions and comments. He said he had driven the route on his way to the meeting. He reported that decades ago, after the current stretch of Highway 63 was completed, the township had approached MoDOT, asking them to not abandon the road, but to allow them to maintain it. He stated that when the township approached MoDOT last year, MoDOT was willing to partner with the township and cost-share to turn it to gravel, patch then chip-seal, or patch and apply a one inch overlay.

Hassinger stated matter-of-factly that the road is never going to be a priority for MoDOT, as they can hardly maintain the roads they have. He recommended that if the state approves the funding to repair the road, then the money should stay locally with the township.

When asked if the state would maintain the road after fixing it, he stated, “We don’t have the capability to do that.” He emphasized that MoDOT considers it a “local road” and “we’ve decided it’s not a part of the MoDOT system.” Hassinger also indicated that ownership of the road may be in question.

Numerous comments were made by those attending the meeting. Frustration and disappointment with the firm stance MoDOT took on the issue were evident.

Rep. Cook emphasized that getting the budget passed is the first step, then work begins on assigning responsibility for ongoing maintenance. He expressed that he has some ideas regarding this, and hasn’t given up on getting Shafer Road added to the MoDOT system of roads.

The budget must be finished by May 10. The progress of HB 2004 can be monitored at https://house.mo.gov/budget.aspx. The email address of representatives can be found at https://house.mo.gov, senators at https://senate.mo.gov, and Governor Michael L. Parson at https://governor.mo.gov.