Office seekers, issues get on April 3 ballot

It came down to the wire, but there will be a contested Sedalia City Council race on the April 3 ballot, after Ward 4 incumbent Pam Carter filed Tuesday night, just seven minutes before the deadline.

“It’s been an honor and privilege to serve the people of Ward 4, and I’d like to continue to do that,” Carter said. “I look forward to the campaign.”

Carter, who was elected in 2010, will face Pettis County Sheriff’s Deputy Tolbert “Tollie” Rowe, who filed earlier this month. Carter blamed her late filing on city council business.

“I honestly think (incumbents) should be out, doing the work of the council, rather than politicking,” she said. “I’ve been very busy visiting with constituents and looking at what Ward 4 is facing in the upcoming year.”

Carter cited the city’s consent order by the Department of Natural Resources to upgrade its sewer system, the closing of the Washington Avenue Bridge and the upcoming budget as her main concerns.

“We have a lot of work to do,” she said. “I look forward to meeting Tollie and getting my campaign under way.”

Incumbents Stephen Galliher, Ward 1; Wanda Monsees, Ward 2; and Wiley Walter, Ward 3, will all retain their seats. Current municipal judge Deborah Mitchell also is running unopposed.

All terms are for two years.

Pettis County Ambulance District tax
Residents will be able to vote on a proposed half-cent sales tax that will be used to create the Pettis County Ambulance District, assuming the campaign can come up with the $6,000 still needed by Thursday.

On Tuesday, John Fritz, treasurer of the Campaign to Establish the Pettis County Ambulance District, filed a letter of intent with the Pettis County clerk to ensure that the question is on the April 3 ballot. During a public hearing last week, Fritz said the campaign was still $7,000 short of its $11,700 goal. He said $1,000 had been raised since then.

“The letter of intent lets us go ahead and put the question on the ballot,” Fritz told the Democrat on Tuesday. “I’m confident we’ll come up with the rest of the funds; we have pretty significant commitments that will allow us to collect the $6,000 in time.”

According to the clerk’s office, if the group cannot come up with the needed funds, it has until 5 p.m. Jan. 24 to withdraw from the election.

Fritz said the campaign committee plans to meet Monday to “reassess the situation.”

“If those commitments haven’t come through by then, we’ll have to withdraw from the election,” he said. “I don’t think it will come to that though. This proposal is about Pettis County and the need for a better way to help people, and in my opinion, the real campaign starts now.”

If the measure is approved by voters, the ambulance district will serve all of Pettis County, except those areas already covered by Sweet Springs, Windsor and Cole Camp districts. In addition, a six-member board would be created 90 days after the election to oversee the district.

Lodging tax
Also on the ballot is a proposed lodging tax increase. Currently, hotels charge a flat $2 rate per room per night. After the Missouri Legislature approved House Bill 161 last May, Pettis County residents have a chance to vote to change the tax from the flat rate to up to 5 percent.

Under the current $2 rate, the tax generates about $150,000 a year, but if approved by voters, the new percentage-based rate will collect $250,000 annually. Pending voter approval, a seven-member tourism commission will be appointed to replace the five-member commission that now oversees the lodging tax’s collection and disbursement.

Sedalia 200 school board
Incumbents Dr. Jeff Sharp and Jeff Redford both filed to keep their positions on the school board with third candidate, Stephanie Lefevers, looking to unseat one of them.

Redford served six years on the board before losing his seat during the April 2010 elections. He was then appointed in January 2011 to fill out the rest of the term of John Meehan after he was elected Pettis County presiding commissioner.

Sharp is seeking his fifth re-election.

The seats are for two-year terms.