Numerous members of the community, former City leaders, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel, fire department personnel and others, were on hand Tuesday night to implore the Griswold City Council to seek a resolution to issues they have with the Griswold Rescue Department and its former Captain, Julie Kline. The Council held a special meeting to address the matter of Kline’s resignation, along with the resignations of nine members of the Griswold Rescue Department.

Griswold City Council

Mayor Jeb Peck reiterated an earlier, written statement, that said no decisions were made concerning Kline or the  Rescue Department, when a special closed session was held November 14^th. Peck said “In previous meetings with our former City Manager and Mayor, they had discussed with the Rescue Department’s Captain and officers, about the By-Laws, and how they needed to be followed.” Peck said “Months later, that still had not changed. The Department’s lack of following by the By-Laws set by the Department has been an on-going concern.”

He said another issue was the low number of volunteers on the Rescue Department, and the response of the Department trying to improve them. “The Council had also previously discussed the number of calls in which we did not have enough personnel to show up, and had to be taken by another Cass County Agency.” Peck said they had also asked for some reports from members, of members, and calls that they were going on, and we found those reports to be inaccurate.”

During the public comment portion of the meeting, all of the speakers commended the Rescue Department and its former Captain. Former Mayor Lee Wyman said that while he and Julie didn’t always get along, they could work together. He said “When nine people follow her out the door, there’s an issue.” Those nine people he said, “Trust her…I trust her…what you guys have to remember is you didn’t only affect Griswold, you affected Lyman, Lewis, Grant, Elliott, all of the rural people…all any of us are asking it, try to work it out.” He said a Department of four or five people cannot handle the 150-200 calls each year they receive.

Jeff Pope, with the Lewis Fire Department/Lewis 1^st Responders, said the current number of personnel on the Griswold Rescue Department (Four active) is not enough to help in a critical time of need. Pope said the six members of Lewis 1^st Responders have always worked well with Griswold Rescue. He said a multi-vehicle accident with multiple patients would become a matter of “Who lives and who dies,” with regard to response time from Red Oak or elsewhere. Pope said it’s not just EMT’s who have been lost by the resignations, it’s their experience.

Cass County Medical Examiner/Director Dr. Elaine Berry told the Council it was her opinion that whatever happened in the closed session “Was wrong, it should not have happened that Julie would get that angry and resign, and the fact that [so] many people left with her means that there’s something really wrong.”

Dr. Elaine Berry

She suggested the Council get a Mediator to resolve the issues. Dr. Berry went on to say “I am NOT comfortable as a Medical Director continuing to be the Medical Director of an ambulance service that has inexperienced EMT’s, brand new ones without the leadership that’s been there before.” She also said unless the new people can prove to her they know what they’re doing, she doesn’t want her medical license “Extended out there to people who don’t know what they’re doing.” The EMT’s she said, by law have to practice under her license, thereby making her liable.

Former Mayor Jerry Putnam said the Council partly “Misused” their closed session. He said also “What you did wasn’t really legal.”  Following the Public Comment period, the Council appointed Brad Amos as the new Rescue Department Captain. Amos said earlier, they had received five new applications from people who want to join the Rescue Department. Each of the Council members said toward the end of the meeting, they want to talk with members of the Rescue Squad both past and present, and have tentatively planned to do so next week during a work session, but no action would be taken at that meeting.