VIENNA — The Maries-Osage Ambulance District (MOAD) board convened for its Aug. 12 meeting with a familiar face in attendance.

Former board member Ralph Wilde was the board’s pick to fill the vacancy in Sub-District No. 6 after no one filed for the seat in the April election. Wilde took his oath of office at the beginning of the meeting.

Also in August, MOAD held its annual tax levy hearing. The board approved the district’s tax levy at the state-proposed rate of 0.1924 cents per $100 assessed valuation. The rate stayed the same from the previous year.

The district’s income in July was $39,225.48, and expenses totaled $50,37.96 for a negative $11,146.48 net income. Fees to dispatching centers made up $4,100 of the expenses.

During the Aug. 12 meeting, MOAD Administrator Carla Butler recommended that the district hire a billing clerk. She said she needed help keeping up with the district getting busier and more administrative work, and one of the reasons the district’s expenses outpaced its income in July was because she had not had time to catch up on billing.

The board recognized the need for more help, but members questioned how the district could afford it. Board Vice President Steve Maxwell asked if Butler had looked into billing agencies.

Butler said she could give another office staff member more tasks than just billing, so she thought it would be better to have another employee instead of a contracted service.

Also during the Aug. 12 meeting, Butler told the board that the internet speed at the Vienna base was creating an issue for her and staff members trying to complete work online. An employee had brought his internet dish from home to help everyone get better speeds.

MOAD pays $156 monthly to AT&T for internet service at both bases. Butler said she had looked into pricing for Starlink, which after a setup fee would be about $120 monthly per base. Although a switch would come at a price increase, board members agreed that the internet services needed improvement.

Butler also said she had contacted AT&T about options for phone service after the company discontinued the copper lines that the district uses. AT&T had not responded to the inquiries. The board took no action regarding the internet service until it got some answers to questions about whether phone and internet services would need to be intertwined going forward.

The board approved renewals for its building and vehicle insurance, which increased approximately $10,000 to a total of nearly $39,000 for the two bases and four ambulances. Board members also approved an annual contract renewal with Frank Flashpohler for legal services.

Maxwell said he had been looking at places to put up a flagpole at the Freeburg base, but he wanted to get input from the other board members before installing it. The board agreed the flagpole could go in the middle of the yard.

While discussing the Freeburg base, EMT Richie Hinz mentioned a tree that had started to grow up around the power line. The board asked Butler to call the power company to take care of it.

The district got the 2012 ambulance back after repairs though it still had possible radio and electrical difficulties because it needed a jumpstart when a crew went to get it. The problems may have just been a battery issue. The 1990 ambulance was still down with a transmission problem.

MOAD did not receive the Missouri Department of Public Safety grant for which it applied to cover the cost of a new ambulance. Butler asked if the board wanted to stay on the waiting list for two new ambulances.

The board agreed to stay on the list for now and review the budget later to see if the district would need to drop off the list for one of the ambulances, which it is scheduled to receive in 2026.

MOAD responded to 59 service calls in July. Of those calls, 39 were in the Vienna zone and included 32 urgent emergencies and seven dry-run emergencies.

In the Freeburg zone, MOAD responded to 20 service calls including 17 urgent emergencies and three dry-run emergencies.

The average call-to-en route time in July was 4.96 minutes. The average time for an ambulance en route to arrive on a scene was 10.84 minutes. The average arrival-to-completion call time was 23.27 minutes. The average scene-to-emergency services destination time was 36.13 minutes. The average destination-to-return to service time was 83.50 minutes.

Board member Laura Stratman asked if the time on scene was normal.

EMT Leonard Reinkemeyer said there can be a lot of variance in the time spent at a scene. In more serious calls, the ambulance crew often works swiftly to get a patient to the hospital. Other times, a patient may be reluctant to go to the hospital or want to pack a bag to take with them before going to the hospital.

MOAD employees will have mandatory skills training that will become an annual requirement. Butler said she had picked two dates that are more than a month apart to give employees time to plan to be there.

Recent and upcoming events the district attended in Vienna include CPR training for new staff at Maries R-1, the Maries County Fair and an event at Visitation Catholic Church. In Freeburg, MOAD plans to attend the Freeburg Picnic. The district attended the Argyle Fire Department Softball Tournament and the Knights of Columbus car show earlier this summer. In Meta, MOAD personnel attended the St. Cecilia Catholic Church picnic.