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Ambulance services sign one-year contract
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By KELLY SUDZINA - Staff Writer
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BLUE LICKS BATTLEFIELD STATE RESORT PARK -- Officials from Robertson, Bracken and Nicholas counties signed a final contract Wednesday for the latter two counties to provide ambulance service to Robertson County for the next year.
Officials from seven counties came to a meeting held on the deck at the Blue Licks Lodge. As the occasional leaves drifted from the trees, the group ironed out the last few details of the contract with the help of Brian Bishop, the executive director of the Kentucky Board of EMS.
Bishop orchestrated Wednesday's meeting and drafted the contract. After about an hour of discussion, Bishop took a disk from his laptop inside the lodge and returned with documents, promptly signed by Robertson County Judge-Executive Bradley Gifford, County Attorney John David Sims, Bracken County EMS Director Betty McClanahan and Andy Wartman, signing on behalf of Nicholas County's EMS service, now called American Emergency Resources.
The agreement dissolves the Robertson County Emergency Medical Service and license, and splits the Robertson County service area in half. Bracken County EMS will serve areas north of Kentucky 1504 and U.S. 62, excluding Mount Olivet. American Emergency Resources will cover the city limits and nursing home, as well as the southern half of the county.
Within the next five days, the two ambulance services are to submit a letter to the state adding these geographic areas into their legal areas of service.
Bishop said several other surrounding counties originally considered the agreement, but decided not to participate because they did not want to be responsible by regulations.
However, they have agreed to help out on the already-existing mutual aid basis.
As part of the Wednesday's agreement, the Robertson County EMS' non-disposable assets will be split between the Bracken and Nicholas services. A "fair and equal" split will be drawn up by Sims, using property values determined by the fiscal court. Each county will receive one of Robertson County's two ambulances as part of the split. The rest of the disbanded EMS' goods will be given to the Robertson County Fire Department for first response use.
During the year of service outlined in the contract, Robertson County will pay a total of $5,000 each to Bracken and Nicholas counties' ambulance services on a quarterly basis.
The contract also provides a way for the Robertson County Fiscal Court to re-establish a Class I licensed ambulance service if several guidelines are met: a meeting between contract signers and the state board of EMS, a financial stability plan, a list of employees and a service director's name. If that happens, the other two counties agree to withdraw from Robertson County's area of service and the county may re-obtain the assets that were split.
The contract is binding for one year, to end Sept. 4, 2003. A renewal possibility was discussed during the meeting, but no written agreement was reached. If it is renewed, Bracken County officials may want to add a new stipulation to the annual payment, which would be the $5,000 or the equivalent of the Bracken County's EMS taxing district rate applied to the property value covered in Robertson County, whichever is greater. Bishop said Nicholas County's EMS is not tax-based and has not asked for a similar consideration for the southern half of the county next year.
"I think we can go that first year. (Fiscal Court) gave me authority to sign," said Gifford before signing. "I'll have to go back to fiscal court for that second year agreement."
The Kentucky State Police Dry Ridge Post has agreed to cover all dispatching for Robertson County. The deal includes a step up from basic 911 service -- which the county currently does not have. Bishop said the police hope to have the dispatch service up and running by Sept. 15. |
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