Watersmeet town meeting draws large, spunky crowd

By P.J. GLISSON

news@yourdailyglobe.com

Watersmeet - A Wednesday evening town meeting on Gogebic County's proposed ambulance millage drew several dozen people to the Watersmeet Community Center.

The nearly two-hour session was led by Jim Lorenson and Jim Loeper, members of the Gogebic County ambulance committee.

The Nov. 6 election ballot will ask county residents to vote yes or no on raising taxes for three years on all Gogebic property by no more than one mill, or $1 of state taxable valuation, to pay for ambulance services throughout the county. The millage, which would require landowners to pay an extra $10 in taxes for every $10,000 in taxable property value, is estimated to raise $523,548 in the first year, 2019.

Lorenson, chair of the board of Aspirus Ironwood Hospital and Clinics, said Beacon Ambulance has been facing rising costs in equipment, staff and compliance with governmental rules.

Beacon serves the western end of Gogebic County, while the Watersmeet area pays $43,000 per year for its ambulance service from an Iron River provider.

Lorenson said passage of the ambulance millage would result in hiring of consultants, creation of a county emergency management board, and the ability to buy and lease modern ambulance equipment to related providers, who would bid to cover the county.

In addition, said Lorenson, the new board also would determine a solution for emergency service beyond the three-year millage period, by which time current emergency providers might retire. "A long-term solution requires an expertise that Gogebic County doesn't have right now," he said.

Although several persons attending Wednesday night's session said current ambulance service can take close to an hour to arrive in Watersmeet, some still defended it.

"It's physically impossible for an ambulance from Wakefield or Marenisco to get here faster than the one from Iron River," said Paul Kemppainen, Watersmeet treasurer.

"I'm telling everybody to vote no," said Charlene Kemppainen. "We get better service from Iron River." Moreover, she added later, "We don't want to give you our money until the plan is done."

Yvonne Clark agreed, adding, "We like what you're saying," but said the plans are "too premature to vote on." She suggested waiting a year until a more sound proposal can be set up.

Clark and several other residents were not satisfied with assurances from Loeper and Lorenson that Watersmeet's needs would be incorporated within the overall development of the county ambulance service.

Lucy Brundago asked the men where ambulances will be placed, and Loeper conceded it is "not feasible" to put an ambulance in every community. He added, however, that an ambulance in Watersmeet would be a top priority.

"In a more perfect world, you'd have a more concrete plan," said Lorenson, who added the problems need addressing now. Although they cannot guarantee exactly what will happen, he said, "Our goal is for there to be a rig here."

Another sore spot with the public was the fact that even though a 2017 chart of Gogebic County shows Watersmeet Township had only 8.1 percent of the population, it still represented $166,625,542 of the county's more than $523.5 million in taxable value. By comparison, the city of Ironwood has 32.6 percent of the total population, but only $92,453,870 in taxable value.

Jim Okraszewski drew droll titters from the crowd when he said, "People don't even know where we live until it's time to pay taxes."

"We should not have to pay more," said Watersmeet clerk Sandy Mansfield, who said their region ends up "subsidizing" the needs of other areas. "We are getting taken over and over again."

Steve Roth echoed her, saying, "We have all the money. You have all the populace. We pay the rate."

One woman, who did not want to be identified, said, "We all know this is going to pass anyway because we're 8 percent of the population, so let's keep these guys on a hot plate until we get what we want, which is an ambulance in Watersmeet."

The same woman, who also told the crowd, "They're going to get the money whether you like it or not," told the Globe later that, despite her frustration, she believes Loeper and Lorenson are good men who are trying to help them.

Lorenson told the group the goal is "quality, responsive ambulance service" for everyone in the county. "I think this is do-able," he said. "I'm going to do everything I can."

Loeper, emergency management director for Gogebic County, said his job is to fight to get government funds into the county. He and Lorenson said government grants also should help to solve some of the county's problems.

"I guess I'm asking Watersmeet Township to take a leap of faith," said Loeper. "I really believe in my heart this is important for the whole county. I will ensure that your voices are heard."

After the meeting, Loeper told the Globe, "They had a lot of good questions. I love how many people we had here. We're not going to change everybody's mind. It has to be decided by the people. What do they want?"

Lorenson added, "If the millage passes, there's work to be done throughout the county." He said creative applications will be needed.