OSAGE COUNTY  —  Osage Ambulance District (OAD) Administrator Josh Krull informed commissioners last week that the district intends to again put the annexation of a portion of the former COMM-Unity Ambulance district on the Nov. 7 General Election ballot.

“The election didn’t go the we way we feel it should have,” said Krull. “We paid $8,000 for it to go, and we’re going to have to pay $8,000 to run it again. People have a right to be upset and the right to vote, but we have the right to cover this area.”

Western District Commissioner Larry Kliethermes noted that his understanding was that OAD had fewer votes for the change than the number of signatures on the petition.

Krull explained that residents on CR 503 who signed the petition were not allowed to vote. He added it was later discovered these individuals were in the MOAD coverage area and not allowed to vote in OAD’s election.

“Members of our existing coverage area were turned away because it wasn’t in the system correctly,” said Krull, adding that people in Meta and Argyle — at least 376 people — may have been incorrectly listed as eligible to vote, and others were excluded that should have been eligible. “We found a lot of inconsistencies with the election, and that’s why we’re not accepting the [results] because of those reasons. We feel the [Aug. 8] election is null and void, and doesn’t really count.”

OAD board members agreed with Krull’s recommendation to pursue another election at their meeting last week.

In an interview following the election, Krull explained what happened. “We were contacted on election day by some voters living in the proposed annex area who were unable cast a ballot, and became aware that some others, who live outside the proposed area, were able to vote,” said Krull, who questions the accuracy of the end result, which saw OAD’s proposed annexation in the southern part of the county voted down by residents 37-22.

In the Aug. 8 election, voters had two polling places, one for current OAD residents and another for those in the proposed annexation area. He told commissioners last week that he wants to separate the issue into two ballot entries: one for citizens in the territory to be annexed and one for citizens already in OAD’s jurisdiction. That should make it easier for voters to make their choice.

“The statute is vague,” said Krull. “We had two databases of people who should have been allowed to vote.”

“So, now it’s two different ballot questions,” said Eastern District Commissioner John Trenshaw.

“That’s right,” Krull replied.

“We have to have a petition for each question, don’t we?” Trenshaw asked.

Krull noted that his understanding is the petition does not expire. “It still stands, according to the statute,” he added. “It’s already been presented and accepted.”

Krull said he checked with Kammerich and Prosecuting Attorney Amanda Grellner to ensure he was on the right path.

“We believe everything but presenting you with another order has already been accomplished,” Krull said.

“You mean petition?” Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin asked.

“No, another order for you to sign for us to put it on the November ballot,” Krull replied.

He explained that individuals identified as being in the district had been sent to County Clerk Nicci Kammerich, who took them to Collector Denise Nolte to determine whether part of their taxes went to OAD.

“We are committed to making sure the database is updated according to our records,” said Krull.

Kammerich explained after the election that the issue arose because voter information had not been updated. “When I had asked for all the voters for this annexation, I only got a list of voters in the COMM-Unity Ambulance District sent to me by the district, and not all of the voters,” she noted. “I pulled the Osage Ambulance District voters in my database and added them to the partial list I had received. We had found out during the election that some people who are not in the Osage Ambulance District had voted. When I had checked my database on MCVR, they were listed under OAD.”

Krull told commissioners last week that OAD does not maintain a database. “The county assessor has the database,” he said. “We’re cleaning up the database and the people we believe are not district residents.”

Trenshaw asked if Krull would be ready by the Aug. 29 deadline for ballot inclusion. He added that because there’s a short deadline, everyone needs to be on the same page so it’s done correctly. “My understanding was that you guys were supposed to specify who on that database is supposed to be in that vote because we don’t keep it,” Trenshaw said.

“Well, the county does keep it,” Krull returned. “The assessor assesses the taxes; the collector collects them.”

“Correct,” Trenshaw said. “What I’m getting at is in the territory you’re wanting to go in, have you given her the names of the people that are in that territory?”

“Yes,” Krull said. “In that area, there were people incorrectly listed as being part of another ambulance district and not allowed to vote.”

This was the first annexation-related election undertaken together, so Kammerich and Krull were in uncharted territory. “This was all new to us, and after discovering issues and contacting the sources of these issues and what to do, I was told that each political subdivision should be sending us a list annually or during the final certification before that election,” Kammerich explained immediately after the Aug. 8 election.

She added that during an audit of OAD’s list of residents, she noticed no new information had been provided to the clerk’s office since 2007. “All political subdivisions should provide a service list of all people in the district so we can update our database on an annual basis, but unfortunately, I have had only two districts send me updated lists in the last four years,” said Kammerich. “To fix this, we are working with OAD and the collector’s office to get tax receipts so we know who can vote on what. I will also be reaching out to all other political subdivisions to make sure they are aware to update their information with us on an annual basis.”

Kammerich wants residents to know what to look for on their voter registration cards. “When they receive a card in the mail, they should look at the bottom of the card that shows their election districts,” she said. “If something does not look right, please contact the office so we can look into it.”

Trenshaw asked if Krull was going to work out the conflict with Maries Osage Ambulance District (MOAD).

“We’re not changing what we propose because we believe we can get there faster and serve [the area] better,” said Krull of MOAD and the proposed annexation territory. “The only thing they could do, legally, is come here and say why they think they can serve it better. They didn’t do that and have a right to be upset about it. Ultimately, I have reasons for it. I don’t want to publicly debate why we think we can serve it better.”

“That’s between you and them because there was a conflict,” said Trenshaw.

“Yes, there was a conflict,” Krull acknowledged. “But my goal is not to make anyone look bad.”

He added that the plan hasn’t changed, and maps of the proposed area are available for review at the OAD base in Linn. “The only change will be to make it two questions so Nicci can tabulate it easier,” said Krull. “We have to be able to show it passed in both the proposed annexed area and the existing OAD area. We thought we could show just by numbers, but we have to show that it passed on both sides.”

“Is Maries Osage aware you’re running it again in November?” Kliethermes asked.

“We don’t have an obligation to notify them,” Krull replied.

“No, but I feel we’re going to have the same conflict, and if they don’t know about it, they’re going to be in here,” said Kliethermes.

“We probably have to have another hearing, don’t we?” Trenshaw asked.

“We are not required by statute to have one,” said Krull. “The reality of the situation is that we had to prove why we’re serving that area. They’re not equipped to serve it faster or better. They can be upset about it, but the public charade that happened here was unprofessional and unjustified. The public hearing is not to debate what we’re doing. It’s for you guys to see that we followed the statute, which we did.”

“I agree,” said Trenshaw.

“It was supposed to prove we met the requirements of the statute, and then people can exercise their right to vote,” said Krull.

He added the focus now is on securing a November election. “According to [Nicci] and legal counsel, we believe all we should have to do is type up a new order for the election and present it to you in a meeting,” said Krull.

“If she says she has all the data and you have all the data, we don’t have a whole lot except to say go for it,” said Trenshaw. “We can’t judge; we’re not judges. If you meet the statutes, I don’t see how we have much choice.”

Griffin expressed reservations that OAD is not holding another public hearing to give people an opportunity to give their opinion. “I think that’s wrong.”

“I understand,” said Krull. “The requirement in statute 190.020, the public hearing goes back to private ambulance services competing, and multiple petitions exist. They want to prove response times and why they can serve it better. It’s for competition reasons; it’s not for any other reason. If people didn’t meet the statute, you’d have to find the petition is null and void, or the clerk didn’t certify it.”

“But the other time you had it, there wasn’t really any time because the ballots were printed before the hearing,” said Griffin. “There seems like a big push to get things done. Why is there a rush? Why don’t you wait until April? They’re going to have service. Are you looking at tax revenue and trying to get that adjusted?”

“It’s not the tax revenue,” Krull replied. “Here’s the realistic situation. A mile from our ambulance base, if there’s an emergency, we have no obligation to respond to the call. Nobody does.”

He added that an individual in the undefined area is not paying taxes to an ambulance district. “Morally and ethically, we should respond to the call, right?” Krull asked.

Commissioners agreed with his reasoning but noted OAD would still send a bill.

“For transport, yes,” Krull said. “So what if someone in Linn calls and they’re a taxpayer, and they don’t get the ambulance because it’s hauling (someone) who’s not a district resident? The longer we do it for free, why would anyone vote to support it?”

“That’s true,” Griffin said.

“We have no reason to prolong it to April,” said Krull, noting that all statutory requirements have been met. “A public hearing is not supposed to be a battle. That’s what board meetings are for. We had a meeting last week, and no one showed up to battle with our board about why we’re doing whatever. We’re our own political subdivision.”

Krull told commissioners that since every requirement was met, all they had to do was sign off on the measure being put on the ballot as the election authority.

“So you won’t publish in the paper your territory or anything?” Griffin asked.

“That’s already been done,” said Krull. “A notice of election will be posted.”

“I know it was published previously, but you won’t do it again,” Griffin said.

“We have no legal obligation to do that,” Krull insisted.

He noted there are provisions in state law that cover what to do if there are multiple petitions.

Kliethermes noted that the objection lodged at the public hearing was about the boundaries not following the fire department lines. “That was the discrepancy, and I think it would be nice to talk to them and see how they feel,” he added.

Krull told commissioners that when this was set up, OAD’s attorney, who also represents MOAD, agreed to work on the proposed annexation with both agencies.

“The petition you guys signed came from our [mutual] attorney,” said Krull. “When we started, he reached out to them and said we were working on this, and they did not want to participate.”

“Really,” said Griffin.

“I’m not interested in a battle,” said Krull, “but we have no legal obligation to them. I have a legal obligation to the taxpayers and citizens who don’t have an ambulance service.”

Krull noted that 94 people signed the petition, nearly double the required 50 signatures. “There’s no reason we should be stopped from putting this on the ballot again,” he added. “Maries Osage doesn’t have to like it, but they have the same rights to do what we did. They could have worked with us when we attempted it. I cannot help they didn’t do it.”

Kliethermes told Krull that commissioners were not arguing with him. “We get phone calls and get blasted,” he said.

Krull replied that he received a lot of calls on election day as well, so he understands the difficulties involved.

“Ultimately, the buck is coming to us whenever we have to provide service with paramedics because other districts don’t have them,” said Krull. “It’s a strain on our service if it’s not our district we’re trying to cover.”

“So, what exactly are you asking from us today?” Griffin asked.

Krull said he would like to return with a request for annexation for commissioners to sign ordering the issue’s inclusion on the Nov. 7 ballot. He added that Kammerich’s information had been amended after the two worked together.

“She’s okay with that?” Griffin asked.

“That’s been her recommendation,” Krull answered.

“I will say it this way,” Trenshaw said. “If you meet the statute, and it sounds like you have, I’ve got no problem.”

Krull will return this week to finalize the order.