ST. JAMES—Washington County Presiding Commissioner Robert "Bob" Reed was elected chairman of the  Meramec Regional Planning Commission during the board's regular meeting May 111 in St. James. Reed, having served two years as vice chairman, replaces Salem Mayor Gary Brown, who had completed two terms as chairman, the maximum allowed under MRPC's bylaws.

            Rolla business person Laura Antolak was elected vice president. She is the MRPC at-large commissioner for small business. Other officers elected include Osage County Presiding Commissioner Russell Scheulen, who will serve as secretary. This will be Scheulen's first term as an MRPC officer. Outgoing Chairman Gary Brown will continue in an officer capacity and will serve as treasurer. All officers will assume their new positions at the June 8 meeting.

            Jesse Jarvis, at-large commissioner for education, was re-elected at-large representative to the executive board. Four at-large positions were elected this year. Leo Dickey of Washington County will continue to serve as commissioner for the farming; Jim Decker of Owensville will continue to represent industry. Laura Antolak of Rolla will serve another three-year term as commissioner for small business, and Willard "Decky" Finn of Vienna will continue to represent transportation on the board.

            In other business, the board:

            •  Welcomed new staff members: Josh Hester of Cuba has been hired as a communication/marketing specialist while Maria Kardon of Rolla is a new business loan specialist.

            •  Heard that four broker proposals have been received for the proposed City/County Health Insurance Consortium. A committee will be reviewing those proposals, meeting with consultants and preparing a recommendation for interested local governments;

            •  Heard a report from Tom Klebba, MRPC's at-large board member for lending, that the Meramec Regional Development Corporation has prepared more business loans this fiscal year than any year since its formation. Klebba explained that Kardon has been hired to work with Loan Officer Candace Connell to further expand the program. MRPC was recently awarded a $500,000 loan from USDA Rural Development to recapitalize the revolving loan fund. The MRDC loan board, which reviews and recommends loans through MRPC's programs,  will consider two requests for those funds at its May 25 meeting. Klebba, a banker with Legends Bank, also serves on the MRDC board.

            • Learned that three local transportation projects have made the first cut in the Missouri Department of Transportation's statewide projects prioritization process. Statewide leaders and planning partners prioritized 46 statewide projects on April 27. Of those 46, 19 ranked high enough to be further considered for funding. Projects on the short-list include the Highway 63 environmental impact study for Maries and Osage counties, which ranked second in the state; an Interstate 44 needs and purpose study, which ranked No. 11; and the Highway 50 design work, from the Osage/Cole counties line through Linn in Osage County, which ranked fifteenth. Planners will meet again on May 19 to hear additional information on the top 19 projects, including costs estimates. Projects will be ranked again for funding consideration;

            •  Learned that a new board member orientation is being planned for June;

            •  Were briefed on the FY 2006-2007 budget, which was presented in draft form to the operations committee and distributed to the full board for review. While some changes are expected prior to adoption, the budget shows total agency revenues of $1,479,731 and expenditures of $1,446,974, leaving an anticipated surplus of $32,757. The board will have the opportunity to review the budget over the next month with any changes being presented prior to adoption at the June 8 meeting; and

            •  Learned that a Fort Leonard Wood transit study, being conducted by MRPC in cooperation with the Missouri Transportation Institute, indicates considerable interest in a shuttle service from Rolla to the Fort and from Lebanon to the Fort. Staff will further study the survey results.

            Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. A professional staff of 24, directed by the MRPC board, offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities.

            The MRPC board will meet June 8 at its office at 4 Industrial Drive in St. James. All meetings are open to the public.