VIENNA — At the Dec. 26 meeting, the commission accepted a petition from residents of the Meta area requesting that the upcoming Maries County ballot includes a question about annexation into the Maries-Osage Ambulance District (MOAD).

Last June, COMM-Unity Ambulance ceased operation in the Meta area. The operation provided ambulance service on a volunteer basis. After COMM-Unity Ambulance disbanded, the residents of the area were left outside the boundaries of any ambulance district. MOAD and Osage Ambulance District (OAD) decided to split coverage of the area. Official annexation into either district was left up to voters of the area. In last November’s election, voters in OAD’s proposed annexation area approved the addition to that district’s boundaries.

The area considering annexation into MOAD contains parts of Maries and Osage counties, so area residents in each county had to submit signatures to their respective county commissions. The Osage County Commission has accepted the MOAD annexation petition from Osage County voters in the annexation area.

The Maries County Commission accepted the petition in a 2-0 vote. Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman abstained from the vote because he is also a member of the MOAD Board of Directors.

Now that the Maries County Commission has accepted the petition, the county clerk will verify the validity of the signatures. Then, the commission must schedule a public hearing on the issue no fewer than 30 days and no more than 40 days after accepting the petition. Following the hearing, the commission will vote on whether to include the question of annexation on the April 2 ballot.

The date of the Maries County hearing is scheduled for Jan. 29.

In other business, the search for a new training and storage property for the Maries County Sheriff’s Office and Maries County Emergency Management ended at the Dec. 28 commission meeting.

In a unanimous vote, the commission approved the purchase of a 2.96 acre parcel of land adjoining the Road Two shed near the intersection of Highway 28 and Route Z. The land comes at a $12,000 cost to the county. The commission expects the deal to close later this month.

The sheriff’s office informed the commission about the need for a new storage and training site during a commission meeting last October. At that meeting, Chief Deputy Scott John said keeping equipment for the sheriff’s office and emergency management in one space could help with convenience and limit speculation about the handling of county property. The commissioners agreed that the sheriff’s office needed more space and encouraged the search for a spot.

Per the motion passed by the commission, the title for the land will go to Maries County. Any future sale of the land must receive majority approval of a group of five people: the three commissioners, the sheriff and the chief deputy.