WOOLWICH

Woolwich selectmen were undecided about signing a contract with the city of Bath regarding the city’s ambulance services to the town on Monday night.

According to the outlined contract, Bath would provide ambulance services to Woolwich on an as-needed basis, as long as the town agrees to pay the city a base payment of $270 per call, and $135 per call if an ambulance is dispatched and no services are rendered.

In addition to the base pay, the town is expected to pay call fees for each ambulance response made by the city in the town, regardless of whether the patient is a Woolwich resident.

According to selectman Jason Shaw, Bath has not requested a contract of this nature since it was the town’s main provider several years ago. The town’s current ambulance service is provided by North East Mobile Health Services.

“(Bath) used to be our primary provider and this was a similar type of contract,” he said, “and they are not our primary provider, so we don’t quite understand it.”

Although William Longley, Woolwich’s EMS director, was willing to offer $500 to $1,000 out of EMS funds for the contract, selectboard chairman David King said that option was “fuzzy at best,” according to the Maine Municipal Association.

After contacting the MMA, King confirmed that the selectboard is unable to sign a contract without Town Meeting approval since this action requires an appropriation of funds, even without a predetermined dollar amount.

“Any contract with a dollar value has to have the approval of the legislative body of the town,” King said.

The contract was received on May 11, two days before Town Meeting this year, and it was too late to add it on the warrant, according to Town Administrator Lynette Eastman.

King also added that the money could not be taken from EMS funds, as the town is required to tell voters at Town Meeting what portion of the budget would be used toward the contract.

Longley, who spoke with Bath City Manager Bill Giroux, said it would not be possible for the town to pay for Bath’s ambulance services without a contract.

“That’s not an option,” Longley said. “If we don’t have a contract, they will not respond.”

King, however, was skeptical.

“It’s really hard to believe that if there was somebody on Route 1, dying, Bath ambulance would say ‘no, we’re not going to come,’” he said. “If we run fire trucks over there to help them all the time, I can’t imagine that they would let someone lay there and suffer rather than run an ambulance over.”

According to Eastman, Bath continues to respond to Phippsburg without a contract. And like Woolwich, Bath is not Phippsburg’s main ambulance provider.

“They have a mutual aid agreement with Phippsburg, where Phippsburg’s paramedic will go to Bath and cover their station when there are too many calls,” Longley explained. “We don’t have the manpower to cover around town, let alone to cover Bath.”

Though Longley suggested scheduling a special town meeting in order to resolve the issue, King said he would be in touch with Giroux about the matter before making any decisions.

Following the discussion, Fred Kahrl of the Solid Waste and Recycling Committee confirmed that the Pay As You Throw Program would be set to begin on Aug. 3.

PAYT was narrowly approved at Town Meeting on May 13, which allowed the town to enter into a contract with WasteZero, a company that will provide special 15- and 30-gallon trash bags priced at $1 and $2 for residents to dispose of their nonrecyclable waste.

As for preliminary bag sale locations, Kahrl said he has already recommended the Bath and Wiscasset Shaw’s stores, the Cumberland Farms in Woolwich and the Ames True Value Supply store in Wiscasset. Bags will also be available for purchase at the Town Office.

King also took a moment to address the residents who were concerned with the way the PAYT program was approved at Town Meeting, as a secret ballot was requested when results from a vocal vote and a voting card count caused some confusion.

King confirmed with the MMA that residents have until the end of Town Meeting to challenge the moderator on any vote, as long as they have the support of six other voters; this is also addressed on pages 36-38 of the town’s annual report.

Help on the way?

ACCORDING TO THE outlined contract, Bath would provide ambulance services to Woolwich on an as-needed basis, as long as the town agrees to pay the city a base payment of $270 per call, and $135 per call if an ambulance is dispatched and no services are rendered.

In addition to the base pay, the town is expected to pay call fees for each ambulance response made by the city in the town, regardless of whether the patient is a Woolwich resident.