The City of Dexter will have representation on a newly formed committee designed to help the Missouri Department of Transportation explore future transportation needs and help to find solutions.
In an announcement this week from Speaker of the Missouri House of Rep. Steven Tilley, it was learned The Blue Ribbon Citizens Committee on Missouri's Transportation Needs panel has been created and will encompass citizens from around the state who will help examine current and future needs, as well as solutions having to do with transportation in the state.
Representing not only Dexter but also the Southeast Region of the state will be Dexter's city administrator, Mark Stidham.
"I look forward to the challenges ahead," Stidham said, citing the budget woes that continue to plague budgets on both the state and local level.
A good example of one of the issues the committee will be facing, Stidham says, is the reality that the motor fuel tax has not increased since he came on board as city administrator many years ago.
"At the same time," he stresses, "the cost of paving roads has about quadrupled in that time span. This committee will be looking at ways to be creative and to best utilize what funding is available."
Stidham is joined in the Southeast region of the state only by Caruthersville resident Duane Miche, who is affiliated with First State Bank and Trust.
The committee will meet several times throughout the year across the state in order for MoDOT officials, business leaders and local citizens to voice their ideas regarding their highway needs and funding ideas, says Tilley.
Tilley says after completing the tour of Missouri, the committee will be responsible for submitting a report of their findings and their responses to his office.
Stidham joins Rod Jetton and Bill McKenna as co-chairmen on the committee and 18 others from across Missouri on the Blue Ribbon Committee.