LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After another joint meeting Tuesday night, Floyd County elected officials still do not have a plan for EMS service, with just 37 days until their current contract expires.
“Al (Knable), some of us are workable and some of us aren’t," at large County Councilman Brad Striegel said during the meeting. "And that’s becoming very apparent. And either you want to work together and come up with a solution that at least a majority of us can go for, or there’s people that will not get there."
The council and commissioners are trying to replace New Chapel EMS, who currently has a $220,000 annual contract to provide EMS service throughout Floyd County. New Chapel has had response time issues during the life of the contract, and questions have been raised about the organization as its longtime CEO and former Sheriff Jamey Noel is facing 25 felonies for theft of public funds among other charges.
The County Commissioners voted 2-1 on March 27 to "continue negotiations" with AmeriPro and they were hoping a contract would be finalized once the County Council approved funding. But during meetings the last month, multiple different options have been considered, including bringing New Chapel back on a one-year deal.
All of the options are significantly more than the current contract.
President of the County Commissioners Al Knable opened Tuesday night's meeting by saying he was recommending option one out of four; where AmeriPro would have provided three ALS-certified ambulances and one quick response vehicle for the whole county for $1.535 million per year.
Striegel introduced "option five" Tuesday night which gives $400,000 to Highlander Fire Department to provide "fire-based EMS" service in Lafayette and Greenville Township, and gives $987,000 to AmeriPro for two ambulances in the three other townships. The total of that plan is $1.387 million.
While Striegel called out some of the other officials for not budging on their plans, County Councilwoman Connie Moon said he was being hypocritical.
“If you haven’t waivered from your options, then you’re pushing Highlander and that’s all you’ve pushed,” Moon said.
Questions have been raised about the legality of fire-based EMS, and there have been fears that firefighters would be "pulled off of" trucks to drive ambulances. But Striegel, Denise Konkle and John Schellenberger were clear that would not happen with this plan. If Highlander is given funding it will hire additional paramedics and cross-trained firefighters to avoid this, according to Striegel.
“The state has already awarded fire districts with a revenue stream. Highlander can do this, they can tax!" Councilman Danny Short said Tuesday.
The 10-person joint body will have their third EMS-related meeting in 13 days this coming Tuesday at 4:45 p.m. The New Chapel EMS contract expires May 31.
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