County inches toward new pact

A proposed change in how Iola’s ambulance crews would be backed up may provide the key to resolving the city’s ongoing emergency medical services contract negotiations with Allen County.
Iola City Administrator Carl Slaugh spoke Tuesday with Allen County commissioners about his proposal to deal with the latest sticking point — the best way to provide backup service if an ambulance is dispatched from the Iola Fire Department.
Under Slaugh’s scenario, any time an ambulance is dispatched from Iola, crews from Humboldt and Moran would be considered backup to help respond if the city then was called to a fire.
But unlike what had been talked about in the past, those crews would not immediately be sent to Iola for standby.
“My concept is to leave those ambulances and count them as being ready to respond, and not have them come in,” Slaugh said. “They’ll still have a 15-minute response time (for a potential call to Iola).”
Such a practice would assuage the county’s fears of leaving Humboldt and Moran unprotected, while also helping the city curb its overtime costs.
Currently, the city calls in two firefighters on standby if an ambulance from IFD is dispatched and patient transport required.
“It is a change in attitude and philosophy,” Slaugh explained, and one that still must be endorsed by the Iola City Council. “I know it would degrade response time for structure fires in our fire service territory.”
Still, Slaugh considered the benefits worth the potential risk.
County Commissioner Dick Works agreed with Slaugh’s reasoning.
“That makes me feel a lot better,” Works said. “It makes sense to keep ambulances in outlying areas. It’s better for everybody.”
Bringing ambulances from Humboldt or Moran to Iola as backup would have been a deal-breaker, Works continued.
“There was a huge level of discomfort for me last week,” Works said. “I was convinced this morning the county was going to run it.”
Works and County Commissioner Jim Talkington directed Counselor Alan Weber to insert Slaugh’s proposal into the amended contract language for further consideration.
The city and county appear to have reached agreement on other elements of the amended agreement, including funding. The new pact would increase the county’s contribution to Iola to $1 million annually — right now, it’s capped at $750,000 — for the city to provide ambulance service protection for all of Allen County.
Slaugh also noted the EMS Department received a 100-percent rating during an inspection last week from the Kansas Board  of Emergency Medical Services.

COUNTY commissioners also heard a request from Mike Jewell, organizer of the Farm-City Days Car Show, to allow car owners to park their vintage hot rods and autos on the southwest corner of the courthouse lawn.
The car show for years was held on the lawn until a switch about five years ago to move the autos to nearby West Street. Participants have mentioned frequently their desire to return to the courthouse lawn, Jewell said.
Works noted the current policy could be construed as unfair because food and arts and crafts vendors drive their vehicles — often large trucks — across the lawn to set up shop for Farm-City Days, scheduled this year for Oct. 18.
Commissioners said they wanted to consider the proposal further before rendering their decision.