Vadnais Heights’ mayor has told the Ramsey County Board that documents show Ramsey County Sheriff Jack Serier was not living in the county at the time he was appointed, which is a requirement of state law.

On Wednesday, Bob Fletcher provided county commissioners with a letter from Matt Bostrom — whom Serier succeeded as sheriff — that was dated Jan. 13. In the letter, Bostrom informed his homeowner’s association that his St. Paul home was vacant.

Serier, who was appointed as sheriff on Jan. 10, previously lived in Stillwater and rented Bostrom’s home before purchasing it in August.

A representative from the homeowner’s association wrote back Jan. 24, saying the board of directors had approved Bostrom’s rental request.

Serier told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday morning, before Fletcher emailed the county board with the Bostrom documents, that he started moving things into the residence in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood in November and that it was December when he moved in.

RELATED: Former Ramsey County Sheriff Matt Bostrom blamed a typo for recent questions arising over Jack Serier’s residency when he was appointed sheriff.

Serier said he had a utility bill for the address, with his name on it, dated Jan. 10, and he also had a lease agreement.

“I vetted it with the county board way back when they were looking at appointing me to be sheriff,” Serier said Wednesday. Related Articles Roseville schools employee charged with criminal sexual conduct

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A sheriff’s office spokeswoman said Serier was not available Thursday afternoon to provide further information.

But Fletcher — who was Ramsey County sheriff for 16 years before Bostrom defeated him in 2010 — wrote in Wednesday’s email to county commissioners that Bostrom’s letter “provides prima facie evidence that (J)ack Serier did not live” at the St. Paul address “at the time of his appointment on Jan. 10, 2017. Any claims of residency at this address by Serier are obviously false statements from him.”

Fletcher said he has prepared a draft complaint about Serier not residing in the county when he was appointed, in which he cites a state law that covers “illegally assuming public office,” which is a gross misdemeanor. Fletcher said he also is consulting with attorneys about the possibility of asking the Ramsey County District Court to vacate Serier’s appointment, based on state law and constitution.

Fletcher wrote that he has not made a decision about whether he will move forward with asking for a criminal investigation or seeking resolution in civil court.

Ramsey County Board Chairwoman Victoria Reinhardt said Wednesday that she had a conversation with Serier before he was appointed and he told her he had moved in full-time in December. Serier wrote in a Dec. 29 letter to Reinhardt that he met “all the statutory qualifications for this position.”

“As far as the county board is concerned, we did our due diligence,” Reinhardt said. “… Jack Serier took an oath; he stated what was the truth. … There is no reason that I would have said, ‘Gee, I wonder.’ ”

Asked why she thought Fletcher was bringing up the residency issue now, Reinhardt said, “Politics. … It just seems very clear … that it’s politically motivated — whether it’s for (Fletcher) or not, I don’t know.”

Serier announced in September that he will run for election next year. Reinhardt is his campaign co-chair.

Fletcher, whose city contracts with the sheriff’s office for police services, said his concerns about Serier’s initial residency have nothing to do with politics.

“At this point, I don’t have plans to run for sheriff,” he said.

“This is an attempt to right a wrong that was committed earlier this year,” Fletcher said Wednesday. “There were several other qualified candidates who deserved to have an opportunity to become sheriff. But Reinhardt and Bostrom fast-tracked Jack’s appointment and obviously no one confirmed his residency. As a consequence of that, he was unlawfully appointed.”

Fletcher said the issue is coming up now because a resident of the St. Paul townhouse association where Serier lives provided him with a copy of the correspondence from the homeowner’s association last week.

Bostrom retired in January, halfway through his second term as sheriff, and is completing a doctorate degree at the University of Oxford in England, he told a townhouse association manager in the Jan. 13 letter. Bostrom did not return a call seeking comment. Related Articles Roseville schools employee charged with criminal sexual conduct

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Fletcher asked Serier in a Monday email to resign over the initial residency issue.

Fletcher wrote in his email to Serier that the sheriff tells his employees “that ‘truth’ and ‘respect’ are two character traits you expect from them.”

“In the spirit of ‘truth’ and ‘respect’ for the public and your employees, I hope you will agree that ‘living out these traits’ requires an honest answer to the question of where you were living on Jan. 10, 2017,” Fletcher wrote.

Before his appointment, Serier had been Bostrom’s second-in-command.