OSAGE COUNTY —  Maries Osage Ambulance District (MOAD) representatives told Osage County commissioners on Thursday they are not happy with the language of the annexation issue on the Aug. 8 ballot.

With the recent cessation of service by COMM-Unity  Ambulance in Meta, it’s commonly understood its territory will be divided between Osage Ambulance District (OAD) and MOAD. The final annexation must be approved by a vote of the citizens to be annexed. Residents served now by the annexing district will also be eligible to vote.

However, MOAD representatives would rather see the ballot issue delayed. Several attended the public hearing and objected to the boundaries drawn in the description in the published notice. It differs from the current “gentleman’s agreement” line now in use. The districts will work together to provide service until the officially voted approval.

Current operating territories informally agreed upon by OAD and MOAD follow the fire districts covering the former COMM-unity Ambulance area. However, OAD District Administrator Josh Krull altered them in the legal description for the August election. His view is the location of OAD and MOAD bases indicates better service could come from the lines he drew. “The only data which went into this was response time,” he said.

MOAD representatives, however, are offended that he published the new language without consulting with them. “You went and changed this with nobody knowing,” said MOAD Administrator Carla Butler.

Several speakers talked of violated trust. MOAD board member Donna Mueller expressed surprise at the different borders when published. “The ‘gentleman’s agreement’ is where the trust issue comes in,” she said.

MOAD Board member Laura Stratman joined in that sentiment. “We all agree with Josh that we want what’s best for patient care,” she said, “but we also want to be able to trust each other.”

OAD Board President Robert Goodenough expressed full support for Krull’s efforts. “The board is fully behind what we’re trying to do,” he said. “We support Josh, whatever he does.”

D.J. Schroeder, serving out the final term as COMM-Unity board president, asked for the ballot issue to be delayed. “We would like for you not to put this on the ballot until we can get this straightened out,” he said, echoing the predominant mood in the room except for Krull and Goodenough.

The problem, though, is that ballots are already printed. May 30 was the deadline for adding to or amending the ballot in any way. Plus, absentee voting for that election began on Tuesday, June 27. The legal description of the annexed territory may be amended as it is not part of the ballot language. However, there’s little agreement about how that might be done. OAD legal counsel has been writing everything so far. MOAD and COMM-Unity representatives don’t trust that anymore. They stood pat on the idea the boundaries should follow fire district lines.

Commissioners urged the two sides to get together, whether they liked the idea or not. Finding common ground would take longer than the one meeting could possibly provide.

“We’ve all been wrong about something,” said Osage County Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin, “but we all agree we want what’s best for the county.”

MOAD and OAD representatives met with commissioners on Tuesday morning before absentee voting began. The ballot measure was approved as submitted by Krull, including the legal description.