Commission decides on private rather than County Morgue

The Laclede County Coroner recently presented a proposal to the Laclede County Commission to use Cares Act funding for the purchase of a County morgue.
Steve Murrell attended Monday’s meeting and asked if his proposal was being considered. Murrell’s proposal would have included a cooler large enough to accommodate the storage needs of the county, and the two funeral homes in Lebanon, and had an initial cost of just over $18-thousand-dollars. Currently, when a person is deceased, a funeral home is selected to transport and take care of the body, and if it’s a suspicious death they transport the body to Springfield or Nixa for an autopsy. When making their decision the Commissioners looked at the long-term cost of operating a county morgue, including security and insurance. According to the minutes of the meeting, Commissioner Angst stated that he had looked on the funeral home website to get statistics if the County has increased significantly. There does not seem to be a significant jump in comparison to the past years. He believes another option is possible, and the funeral homes may want to apply through the CARES Funds for the requested items since their insurance, security, and transportation is being utilized currently. Regional Radio News spoke with County Coroner Murrell, who said he will support the decision of the commission

The Laclede County Commission has decided to approve Cares Act funds for the two local funeral homes to purchase a small cooler for each, which will cost a total of just over $11,000.