Jefferson County supervisors approve money for CARE, pending contract fulfillment

FAIRFIELD — The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors met for the first time in 2023 on Tuesday.

The board included a new but familiar face to Jefferson County residents, Supervisor Lee Dimmitt, who won election to the board in November after taking two years off the board following a 12-year career on it.

Among the most pressing issues facing the supervisors is the contract with CARE Ambulance, which has been the county’s ambulance provider since Oct. 1, 2020 when it began its three-year contract. CARE officials informed the Jefferson County Ambulance Service Agency (JCASA) in December that it could not fulfill the terms of its contract, specifically the requirement to staff two ALS ambulances 24 hours a day.

CARE officials have said that unforeseen expenses, such as high insurance premiums and having to contract with expensive traveling paramedics, have put the company in a financial bind. The company initially asked for an additional $10,000 per month for the remaining nine months of the contract, but in December revised that request to an additional $90,000 per month.

In response, the three entities comprising JCASA, the City of Fairfield, Jefferson County Board of Supervisors, and Jefferson County Health Center, have tried to meet CARE halfway, agreeing to an increase in funds, but not the amount CARE has asked for.

During Tuesday’s supervisors’ meeting, the three supervisors agreed to increase the county’s allotment to CARE by $3,300 per month for the next nine months, with the understanding the city and health center would do the same (the Fairfield City Council approved that same increase at its meeting Dec. 27). However, the supervisors stipulated that the money would only be paid to CARE if it fulfills its contract to staff two full-time ALS ambulances.

Dimmitt remarked, “If CARE doesn’t comply with the contract as written, then we don’t pay the $3,300.”

Dimmitt said he’d like the county to explore the prospect of a county-run ambulance service. To that end, the supervisors have invited Jacob Dodds, EMS Field Coordinator with the Iowa Department of Public Health, to speak at their next meeting on Monday, Jan. 9.

“He’ll walk us through what we would need to do to provide a county-run service,” Dimmitt said. “We’re on a fact-finding mission. You need to talk to the people in charge of that stuff to figure things out.”

Another item that came up for discussion was the future use of the former First National Bank building at 1900 W. Burlington Ave. the county purchased in 2022. Supervisor Dee Sandquist brought up the idea of converting the building into an ambulance base, if the county takes over the ambulance service.

Dimmitt said he wishes the county will sell the former bank building, but he likes the idea of exploring county-run uses for it.

In other news, the supervisors met with Fairfield Public Library Director Alecs Mickunas, who talked about his goal of increasing usership of the library and potentially upgrades such as new carpet. He told the supervisors he would send them an email with a funding request in the near future.

The supervisors approved Dan Miller as county weed commissioner, and they passed a resolution adopting the Master Matrix as a tool to evaluate the siting of confined animal feeding operations.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com