New Washington County Ambulance Department finds familiar home

The new Washington County Ambulance Department has a home and it's the same location as the current Washington County Ambulance, Inc. headquarters at 1120 North Eighth Avenue in Washington.

On Friday, June 5, the Washington County Board of Supervisors held a special meeting to discuss the location of the new service. After holding a closed session, the supervisors instructed County Auditor Dan Widmer, County Treasurer Jeff Garrett, Supervisor Stan Stoops and Elliott Realty to offer an undisclosed party $340,000 for property to house the new service which is to become operational July 1. At the supervisors' regular meeting June 9, it was announced that the Washington County Ambulance, Inc. property, owned by Supervisor Richard Young, was the property selected. The supervisors voted to approve the transaction with Young abstaining.

Ambulance Department Director Jeremy Peck said he has been working on ways to reduce response times in the northern part of the county while keeping costs low. He said he has been in conversations with officials in Kalona and Wellman about housing one of the two county ambulances in a location financed through a 28E agreement in the northern part of the county. It is envisioned that there would be no costs other than electricity to the county and that all other costs would be paid by the northern county cities which would benefit by quicker ambulance response times.

A meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 11 where officials from Kalona and Wellman will be discussing the matter, Peck said. He asked the board to give the northern cities some indication of how it felt about the concept. The board voted to place an ambulance in the northern part of the county if an agreement could be reached.

Peck said he thought the building would be secured on a two-year lease basis. He said the change in the structure of the department would requite no additional staffing. He will update the board at its June 16 meeting.

Other Business

In other business, the supervisors:

*Passed a resolution to authorize the county engineer to sign a contract regarding the Premier One paving project;

*Approved an application for a secondary road use permit from the Wayland Area Antique Tractor Club for a tractor ride;

*Approved an application for a Class A liquor license renewal from the Richland Am Vets Post 107;

*Approved an amendment to the Brighton tower site lease agreement and

*Conducted a canvass of the June 2 Washington County primary election.