Commissioners discuss future coverage of COMM-Unity Ambulance

By Colin Willard, Staff Writer
Posted 1/25/23

VIENNA — At the Jan. 12 meeting of the Maries County Commission, the commissioners discussed the upcoming dissolution of the COMM-Unity Ambulance service in the Meta area.

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Commissioners discuss future coverage of COMM-Unity Ambulance

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VIENNA — At the Jan. 12 meeting of the Maries County Commission, the commissioners discussed the upcoming dissolution of the COMM-Unity Ambulance service in the Meta area.

The commissioners received a letter last December informing them that the volunteer service would end in June.

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman told the others that he heard that if an ambulance service shuts down within the county, the commissioners were responsible for making sure the area received coverage. He suggested that Maries-Osage Ambulance District (MOAD) add to its coverage zone the area of Maries County that COMM-Unity Ambulance serves.

“I think it’s a no-brainer for us to take on the Maries County section there,” he said. “But I have doubts about the rest of it. For one thing, the really complicated part of that area is crossing the Osage River if you’re going to Jefferson City. If the ambulance comes from Vienna to go to Meta, it’s about the same time as coming from Westphalia. The way it’s been handled in the past is if COMM-Unity Ambulance doesn’t have staff available, either Osage or Maries County covers that anyway depending on who has staff.”

Stratman said that the only thing that could change that for him is that COMM-Unity Ambulance is not tax-supported.

“If they pass a tax levy for COMM-Unity Ambulance district, then it would be financially feasible to take on,” he said.

Stratman said in the case of a levy passing, Osage County would like to split coverage of the area at Volmert Lane in Osage County, with Osage County covering the north half and Maries County covering the south half.

“In my mind, I think we should just let Osage County do Osage County,” he said.

Stratman said they would also want to address the part of Maries County that does not pay an ambulance tax if MOAD were to begin covering that area.

“It’s not really fair for the rest of the ambulance district if that continues that way,” he said.

Stratman, who also serves on the MOAD board, said that MOAD had talked about annexing the area covered by COMM-Unity Ambulance before. They were under the assumption that the move would require the passing of a tax levy.

The commissioners wanted more clarity on how the process works, so Stratman called MOAD Administrator Carla Butler.

After speaking with someone about state statutes, Butler said it is a unique situation. Because COMM-Unity Ambulance is a volunteer service and does not collect sales tax or property tax, the citizens of the area must find an ambulance service to take over coverage of the area. If the residents do not find an ambulance service to cover the area, then they would turn the issue over to the county commissioners to solve.

Stratman asked if the residents of the area would have to pay ambulance taxes once Maries County was to annex it.

Butler said the man she spoke with planned to attend the next MOAD board meeting to answer questions on the matter if the commissioners wanted to be at the meeting. She said he told her either 50 voters or 10 percent of the population, whichever is fewer, would need to petition the county commissioners to put the annexation on the ballot in the precincts affected by the annexation. If the voters would approve the addition to MOAD, they would be subject to applicable ambulance taxes.

When MOAD considered taking over COMM-Unity Ambulance’s coverage area, it had looked at taking over more than the Maries County part. Butler said state statute 190.070, which concerns the annexation of land by ambulance districts, said that the commissioners of the county with the biggest portion of an ambulance district would be responsible for putting the issue on the ballot. She clarified that any district can take over coverage in the area. A ballot measure would be to collect taxes for ambulance service.

For now, the commissioners do not have to take action because there is no tax money involved, and they have not received a petition to put a tax measure on the ballot.

Stratman said again that he wanted to make sure Maries County residents would receive ambulance coverage.

Planning and zoning

Maries County Prosecuting Attorney Tony Skouby stopped by the meeting to talk with the commissioners about planning and zoning.

At a meeting last December, the commissioners received a letter from Azimuth Renewables, LLC, the company working on a solar panel project at Lanes Prairie. The letter asked the commissioners to confirm that the county has no planning and zoning restrictions. The commissioners did not return the letter, and they discussed possible options for adding restrictions to those types of projects.

“It’s not like we’re going to get some overnight,” Skouby said. “You’d have to consult with an engineer. You’d have to put a committee together. You’d have to hold public hearings.”

Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel asked if the county could pass ordinances to add restrictions.

“Yes and no,” Skouby said. “There are no absolutes. That glove is not going to fit all situations.”

Drewel asked a hypothetical question about passing an ordinance requiring specs that need to be three feet deep and covered with two-inch rock.

“I think you can,” Skouby said. “You may have to hold a public hearing or put it in the paper that the commission is going to talk about this. Give everybody a chance to talk about it. I don’t see why not.” He said getting into hypotheticals can make things unclear because there are so many factors.

Skouby clarified that planning and zoning laws and ordinances are different but still intertwined.

“You have the power to enact ordinances that affect this county for public health, safety and welfare,” he said.

Jail TV

The commissioners received a complaint from one of the detainees in the jail who wrote that the TV had not been working for months.

Last November, IT manager Shane Sweno requested the commissioners get covers for the jail TVs because inmates had been damaging them. County employees built covers that have since gone on the jail TVs.

Sweno joined the commissioners to talk about the issue. Stratman asked him if the TV would be a quick fix. Sweno said he had parts to fix it, but most of the parts were already replaced. He also said that though the over-the-air TV was not working, the inmates had access to several hundred DVDs that they could watch on another TV.

Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre suggested possibly getting a basic cable package to give prisoners access to local channels.

MU Extension

University of Missouri Extension Council member Sarah Stratman visited the meeting to discuss MU Extension and put in a budget request. She began by recognizing the work Christy Metzger and Dawn Hicks do in the Maries County Extension office

Then, she talked about the relationship between Extension and the four 4-H groups in Maries County.

“The 4-H programs are reaching at least 150 youths in our county,” she said. “When you look at the size of our schools, that’s a pretty good percentage, and they’re mostly younger youth as well.”

“It’s really amazing in a county this small to have 150 kids in 4-H,” Victor Stratman said.

Sarah Stratman said Metzger was trying to find ways to give the clubs more support.

“There’s supposed to be a quarterly 4-H council that meets,” she said. “She (Metzger) is going to try to serve in a supporting role to make sure that they’ve got what they need as far as agendas and helping with correspondence with our area 4-H leader.”

Sarah Stratman shared the results of a poll of local 4-H leaders. She said that 100 percent of the respondents wanted to see the extension office more involved with 4-H. All respondents also said they expected to reach out to the extension office at least once a month with questions with a likelihood of it being more often. Two-thirds of respondents said they wanted to see assistance with growing programs and finding program leaders.

“As the mom of a 4-H member, the leaders seem to be the hard part,” she said. Leaders with the 4-H groups need both the specialization in a skill such as quilting, robotics or welding and the time and ability to teach young members of the clubs.

She also shared some of the other activities MU Extension does around the county, including hosting the Century Farm dinner, sponsoring a farm family for recognition at the Missouri State Fair, hosting courthouse tours for local students, hosting regular pesticide applicator training and helping identify soil samples, insects and plants.

Victor Stratman asked if MU Extension offered services such as help using a computer. Sarah Stratman said there is a laptop available in the office for that kind of activity and others such as resume-building help.

The commissioners thanked Sarah Stratman for how clearly she explained the MU Extension office’s activities.

“We want to make sure you guys know what we’re doing,” she said. “You guys can see where the money is going. As somebody who pays taxes, it’s nice to know it’s not just sitting downstairs. It’s going back into the community.”

She requested an increase from $16,500 to $20,000 in this year’s budget. The commissioners passed a $2,000 increase by a vote of two to zero. Victor Stratman abstained because he is a member of the Maries County Extension Council.