Ambulance service?s contract to end Sept. 30

Co-owners of Jefferson County Area Ambulance submitted a letter of intent to the Jefferson County Ambulance Service Agency today indicating that due to an inability to meet contractual obligations, they will be terminating their contract with the county effective Sept. 30.

The letter also indicates a commitment on the part of the company to provide ambulance service in Jefferson County for 90 days while the agency searches for a new provider.

While their contract with the county was initially to have been in effect through 2015, ambulance service co-owners Bill Luko and Ray Rex agreed to submit the letter Monday after it became clear financial and personnel problems were making continued operation impossible. After telling the board Monday ?a breech of contract is eminent,? Luko and Rex said they would submit a letter of intent no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday indicating that due to personnel shortages, the ambulance service could not honor its contract with the county. In addition, the letter was to have outlined plans for how the business will operate while the county completes the bid process for a new service.

However, an initial letter received by hospital officials Tuesday said only that Rex has resigned from the day-to-day operations at Jefferson County Ambulance effective July 2.

?This decision is being made pursuant to the request of the Board and to provide uninterrupted ambulance service to the community and to allow the Ambulance to meet contractual obligations. Any future contact should be directed to Director Bill Luko,? the letter said. It was signed by both Rex and Luko.

The second letter of intent was delivered to the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors this morning. Supervisor Steve Burgmeier said Luko and Rex drafted, signed and delivered the letter today without a request being made by him or other members of the agency.

?I did not have to talk to them,? Burgmeier said. ?They took care of it on their own.?

Burgmeier said Thursday the Jeffrerson County Ambulance Service Agency remains committed to making sure Jefferson County has an ambulance service.

?We?ve got a lot before us to work out, but the bottom line is, we?re committed to having an ambulance,? he said.

Noting that the ambulance service currently responds to approximately 1,300 calls per year, Burgmeier said not having an ambulance in Jefferson County is simply not an option.

?We will have an ambulance service in Jefferson County,? he said. ?The hospital needs an ambulance, the county needs an ambulance, the city needs an ambulance. We?re going to have ambulance.?

The Jefferson County Ambulance Service Agency will meet at 1:30 p.m. July 18 in the Jefferson County Health Center conference room.