Wording to recall the entire Keeler Township board over its decision to switch ambulance coverage from Sister Lakes to Coloma has been submitted to Van Buren County Clerk Tina Leary, she confirmed Wednesday.

Leary said a clarity hearing on the language for a recall election is set for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 19, in the probate courtroom in Paw Paw.

Targeted for removal are: Supervisor William J. Kays, Hartford; Clerk Carl F. Davis, Hartford; Treasurer Robert Millhouse, Hartford; Trustee Patrick Daly, Benton Harbor; and Trustee Don Blackmond, Magician Lake, Dowagiac.

The four-part recall petition sponsored by James V. Meersman Jr., 45, of Timmons Road, lodges the same three complaints against each — that 1.) they voted March 26 to approve and sign a contract with Coloma Emergency Ambulance Inc.; 2.) they failed to act upon or support a request by the overwhelming majority of township residents present at the township meeting on March 26 to temporarily table consideration of a contract with Coloma Emergency Ambulance Inc.; and 3.) they voted at a township meeting on March 1 to accept the bid of Coloma Emergency Ambulance Inc. for ambulance services.

Meersman estimated 125 people attended Saturday morning’s annual meeting.

A 4.), the denial at the March 1 township meeting that Kays served on the Cass-Van Buren Emergency Services Authority (CVBESA) is directed solely at the supervisor.

Meersman said he doesn’t believe the Coloma offer is better, so he feels compelled to try to fix the situation.

“We don’t work for our township, they work for us,” he said, “and they don’t want to listen.”

Meersman said if Van Buren officials clear recall petition language to circulate, Keeler Township Concerned Citizens would have about 10 days to gather enough signatures to place the question on the May ballot.

If it became necessary to use the entire 90 days allowed, a recall would not appear until November.

While Meersman acknowledged some of the debate echoes 2007 when Dowagiac went with Coloma, one difference is that “free” isn’t free, since Van Buren County levies a millage.

A figure of $500,000 is often cited, which refers in round numbers to the five-year duration of the agreement times what that levy generates.

“Nothing against Dowagiac,” he said, “but the authority takes the vote of the people out of it.”

Keeler has been covered by Sister Lakes for more than 60 years.

On March 1, the Keeler Township board unanimously decided not to renew the Sister Lakes ambulance contract despite an outpouring of community support that made the meeting last five hours.

Keeler’s board put forth four justifications for its action — or “excuses,” to Sister Lakes supporters.

First, at the March 1 board meeting, Sister Lakes conceded it cannot provide a fulltime ALS (advanced life support) ambulance service to Keeler Township residents without the $90,000 subsidy from Silver Creek Township.

The other side argued that Sister Lakes Fire Department made no such concession, but remarked IF Silver Creek chooses to not put in place any alternative funding, such as a special assessment district to replace the previous ambulance millage, SLFD might not be able to continue to provide the same level of professional service as it has in the past to both townships.

Second, the Keeler board compared management of Sister Lakes and Coloma Emergency Ambulance Inc. In doing so, the facts show Sister Lakes cannot fulfill terms and conditions of its bid without receiving tax money from Silver Creek Township.

Further, Sister Lakes did not take timely action to secure its subsidy from Silver Creek. Although some effort was undertaken to tax Silver Creek residents, the time frame was uncertain and the outcome cannot be predicted with certainty.

Sister Lakes supporters counter that Keeler tried to change the subject to suit its own purposes.

What was at issue was SLFD’s bid proposal to Keeler Township — not a proposed contract or funding arrangement with Silver Creek Township.

Sister Lakes insisted it could fulfill terms and conditions of its bid. It would not have been submitted if it believed otherwise.

Sister Lakes characterized as a “cryptic claim” it did not take timely action to secure its Silver Creek subsidy, concluding it is both false and beside the point.

SLFD maintains it is financially sound, as it has been since 1945.

Third, it was the firm conviction of the Keeler board that Coloma’s management is superior to Sister Lakes.

SLFD responds that the test of good management is whether an organization fulfills its mission of providing quick, available and highly professional emergency medical services — not whether multiple layers of absentee, unknown and faceless managers on an organizational chart are richly compensated.

SLFD is managed by volunteers who receive no compensation for taking care of the business of the organization, thereby reducing costs to all users of the services.

Sister Lakes’ position is that its commitment to excellence is fueled by its desire to be of service to those it knows, loves and lives near, rather than being driven by a profit-and-loss statement.

Fourth, Sister Lakes provided no information or evidence, either in its written proposal or at the March 1 township board meeting, that its level of service exceeds ALS standards.

In contrast, Coloma’s written proposal contains a detailed list of accredited personnel and equipment which clearly exceed ALS standards.

Sister Lakes responds that this was clearly an afterthought since the board’s solicitation for bids did not ask for a list of Sister Lakes Fire Department’s equipment, nor did it ask for a list accredited personnel.

All any board member needed to do to learn everything about SLFD’s ambulance operation would have been to stop by the department.

Its paramedics work for other services with high call volumes. Most come with a minimum of 10 years service in this field.

To make a claim that the level of care provided by CEA is superior to Sister Lakes “is simply not true.”

Sister Lakes also said the Keeler board glossed over that more will be paid in user fees.

For example, SLFD bills $500 for an ALS call, plus $9.50 per loaded mile, compared to Coloma’s $895 for the same type of call, plus $15 per loaded mile.

So, for an ALS call with transport to Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph, Coloma would be owed, “most likely out of your own pocket,” $494 more than SLFD for the same service.

The fourth point on the recall petition pertains to Kays’ “prior endorsement” of other Coloma contracts while serving on the CVBESA, which generally meets quarterly in Dowagiac, suggesting the supervisor was partial to Coloma “long before the board decided Feb. 1, 2011, to bid out ambulance service for the township.”

“On or about Feb. 8, 2008,” Sister Lakes stated, “as a purported member of a so-called authority, he signed a contract naming CEA as the ambulance service provider for the City of Dowagiac, LaGrange Township, Silver Creek Township, Pokagon Township, Volinia Township and Wayne Township. He also agreed to an extension of that contract as an authority member once more on or about Oct. 19, 2010.”

Eleven SLFD employees performing ambulance services are local residents and taxpayers, so there is an adverse impact on local employment.

Sister Lakes’ station at 92282 C.R. 690 is near the township population center.

Critics contend no one ever knows where a CEA ambulance is because it covers a five-county area of 28 municipalities and constantly moves units around.

A Coloma ambulance may or may not be in the vicinity.

If one does happen to be present, Sister Lakes says, there’s a fair chance it will be a one-person unit “in place strictly to stop the response time clock” and would not be able to transport loved ones in a time of crisis.

Sister Lakes’ medics mostly consist of certified firefighters, another time-saving response benefit it sees.