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It was a Tuesday evening, and I showed up for the monthly meeting of the Peaceful Village board of trustees, one of the most unique bodies of government in Missouri.

“Do you live in the village?� he asked.

There was irony in the question.

Until a year ago, Ross was the de facto mayor of the village, which he bought from its founder in 2015. The church and its 78 acres near High Ridge in Jefferson County were founded as a Christian children’s camp by Jack Walters. It was incorporated as a village in 2008 under a controversial state law that has since been repealed.

Last year, I wrote about Ross annexing some nearby property and constructing two buildings he intended to operate as sober homes. A neighbor, Jon Jerome, complained that the buildings weren’t up to code and encroached on his property along Antire Road. Ross resigned his position on the board shortly after.

I had pointed out in the column that he didn’t live in Peaceful Village.

He installed a Peaceful Village resident, Kelly Fagala, as chairperson of the board. Other members of the board include his son, Dan Ross III; the son’s wife, Rachel; Steven Duncan, who works for the Teen Challenge nonprofit that operates on church property; and Danielle Shannon, who lives in the village.

After Fagala joined the board, she reached out to experts so she could get up to speed on how to run a village. She talked to the attorney general’s office and the Missouri Municipal League. She and Shannon realized the village was a body of government that needed to keep records, follow the Sunshine Law, have a conflict-of-interest policy and have all sorts of other things Peaceful Village didn’t have.

She also realized the annexations Jerome complained about were likely illegal. So says a report she presented to the board at Tuesday’s meeting. “Upon review of the procedures followed with regard to this annexation, multiple errors were discovered,� the report reads. “These errors call into question the legitimacy of the annexation.�

There was no public notice of the meeting in which the properties were annexed. One of the board members, Shannon, wasn’t invited to the meeting. The only people who attended the meeting were Ross Jr. (whose vote was probably invalid), Ross III and his wife. The company that bought the land, BRR Investments, is owned by Ross Jr. His son is the owner of the company that plans to operate the sober homes. According to Secretary of State records, that company, Cedar Oak, Inc., was dissolved late last year for failing to file paperwork.

Watching the Peaceful Village meeting on Tuesday was like viewing the birth, and death, of democracy at the same time.

Fagala asked to add an agenda item to discuss Sunshine Law and conflict-of-interest policies. She had planned for the item to be on the agenda but forgot to add it. “Sorry, I’m new at this,� she said. “I’m learning.�

Ross III objected. The three board members with strong connections to Ross Jr., voted against having the discussion.

For two months, Fagala has put forward an ordinance to rescind the annexation. But she doesn’t have the votes to pass it. It was delayed again on Tuesday.

She was successful, however, in passing an ordinance to put a moratorium on new annexations while the village gets its business in order. The board also voted to join the Missouri Municipal League, which might provide guidance on policies and procedures.

Jerome, sitting in the front row, videotaped the meeting. Ross Jr., did the same thing, sitting next to me.

He declined to answer questions about the attempt to rescind the annexations he pushed through when he was running the village.

“You burned me the last time,� he told me.

Perhaps he was unhappy with my mentioning the $400,000 in bonuses he paid himself and others while administering a federal program to feed children during the pandemic. Or the mention of how he remodeled his Byrnes Mill home and bought the properties next to Jerome’s house around the same time.

During the meeting Tuesday, Fagala entered her report on the questionable annexations into the record, over Ross III’s objections.

“The public has a right to know if we have made errors,� she said.

Jerome was glad that Fagala’s report, which outlines multiple potential violations of the law, is in the public domain. He’s hoping it gets the attention of state Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick or Attorney General Andrew Bailey.

“The two of them (Fagala and Shannon) are doing all I wanted done to begin with,� Jerome told me, “which is to make Peaceful Village a legitimate government, not an entity run by the Ross family.�