HARPSWELL
Residents approved by a show of cards an additional expenditure of $34,800 to cover the cost of full-time, seven-day-a-week EMT services from January to March, when Town Meeting will be held.
The vote Saturday expands paramedic coverage the town provides from weekdays during business hours to 24-hour, 7-day per week coverage.
Historically, Harpswell’s three volunteer fire departments have had EMTs and paramedics on duty but in recent years, the volunteers with those skills have begun to retire.
Harpswell contracted with Mid Coast Hospital to provide service on a regional basis when the need arose.
However, the time for a paramedic to arrive from the hospital was a long wait — upward of 15 minutes, town officials said — and for people in an emergency situation, that time lag was much too long. Harpswell then contracted with the hospital to have an EMT sited at the Mountain Road facility, where an ambulance garage is being constructed. But the EMT was only there Monday through Friday, 12 hours per day.
With the critical need, the town decided to hold a special town meeting to ask residents to approve the expanded coverage. The annual additional expense is expected to be $155,000 to increase the services to 24/7 for the year. That would add about 2 percent to residents’ tax bills.
Most agreed Saturday that, in the absence of skilled volunteers, the town must provide coverage onsite, to cut response time by more than half for most residents.
Selectmen already were proposing a 24/7 EMT for the Town Meeting warrant; however, the retirements caused them to ask for a special town meeting on Saturday.
Deputy Town Manager Teri Sawyer said townspeople approved Saturday’s warrant by show of cards.
The town will construct a small living space in the ambulance garage near the town office to accommodate an EMT, with a rest area and kitchen area.
Bids for the project are due Wednesday.
In the meantime, the EMT will have a small room in the Town Office outfitted for his or her needs.
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