Leaders of Audrain County communities as well as the Audrain County Commission recently came together in the Laddonia Municipal Building to discuss a variety of issues and situations that might affect county residents. Members of the Laddonia, Vandalia, and Farber City Councils were present in addition to staff from the city of Vandalia, city of Mexico, the Mark Twain Regional Council of Governments, and the Mexico Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Audrain County Commission organized the meeting with the hopes of not only communicating information on county-wide topics to the representatives present, but establishing a resource-based network for those communities.

“After talking to leaders from across the county, we noticed that many of our communities were either going through the same issues now or had experienced something similar and finished that process,” associate commissioner Leslie Meyer said. “For example, Laddonia is looking at a project to connect to the Clarence Cannon Dam for the town’s water supply. The city of Farber completed that project several years ago and can help provide insight into what they learned from being a part of it.”

The meeting’s agenda covered a variety of topics including Department of Natural Resources funding options for sewer and waste water projects, an introduction by officials from Tenaska regarding the windmill project, and the status of county-wide broadband access. Associate commissioner Tracy Graham outlined the final rule of the American Rescue Act Funding. Graham, a member of the National Association of Counties’ Executive Board also answered questions from attendees regarding the funding from the federal government.

“The biggest change with the final rule is the option to claim all rescue funds as lost revenue for the municipalities or counties,” Graham explained. “This will add more flexibility in types of projects and ease of reporting for community leaders.”

Presiding commissioner Alan Winders thanked Laddonia for hosting the event and encouraged those in attendance to make the Audrain County municipalities meeting a regular occurrence, which was met with enthusiasm from the crowd.

“The best solutions occur when we come together for the good of Audrain County residents,” Winders said. “Each of these topics from tonight, we could spend hours discussing; if we meet regularly, we can cover one or two topics in depth and benefit our communities even more.”

The group decided to meet every two months, revolving locations so participants can see and visit with businesses in that community. Farber will host the next meeting in May and the community leaders will discuss code enforcement and economic development.

“I would like to thank the County Commission for bringing the communities together,” Farber City Council member Ruth Etta Williams said. “This will be a great opportunity for us to share ideas, resources, and learn what works and what doesn't with our neighbors. I believe our future looks so much brighter when we all work together.”