Newton to cease providing ambulance service to Goessel
Council discusses city's options
The Goessel City Council met Sept. 18 in the Goessel Civic Center community room.
The council received two letters from the Newton EMS director, Gary Denny, stating that effective Sept. 15, 2003, Newton EMS would no longer provide ambulance service to Goessel.
Mayor Peggy Jay invited Joan Knak, Marion County EMS director, to the council meting to answer some questions that have been raised concerning the emergency services that are available to Goessel. Knak assured the council that Hillsboro ambulance would be the primary unit dispatched, and if Hillsboro was unavailable, Hesston would be the second unit to be dispatched.
Knak informed the council that the county is responsible for providing emergency services to all the cities within the county. She explained the difference between Basic Life Support and Advance Life Support.
Knak was asked by the council what it would take to get an ambulance back in Goessel. She said that at the last First Responders meeting, she mentioned it to the group and explained that it would take some new equipment for the First Response unit and a minimum of one EMT and one First Responders on call 24/7 to have an ambulance stationed at Goessel.
She stated that if the Goessel community would support having an ambulance here and would recruit more people to take the EMT class, it could be done. The EMTs get paid a minimal amount to be on call and $25 per run.
No decision was made by the council.
In other business:
— Rhonda Montgomery, representative from the National Flood Insurance Program, informed the council about the advantages of the city's participating in the program. Currently, flood insurance is not available to anyone in the city because Goessel does not participate in the program. There is no cost to the city to participate other than appointing someone to administer the program, adopting the regulations and guidelines of the program and adopting and publishing an ordinance.
After discussing the benefits to the residents of Goessel who currently live in the flood plain, the council voted 3-1, with James Wiens opposing, to enroll in the National Flood Plain Program.
— Public works director Arlen Goertzen reported he sent out two letters to two companies asking for bids to treat the well. Only one company responded. Layne Western from Wichita sent in a bid of $7,055 to treat and clean well No. 1. The council voted 4-0 to accept the bid from Western.
— Arlen Goertzen informed the council, with the approval of the mayor and council member Wiens, of the purchase of a 36-inch wide bucket for the backhoe at a cost of $1,177 for cleaning out ditches. The cost is to be split between the utility funds.
— Goertzen also reported that he received a report from KDHE stating that something needs to be done with the sewer ponds. Chris Cox of Schwab-Eaton Engineers is putting together a report for KDHE. Cox thinks that the city will probably need to purchase some land and put in another sewer pond that would be a primary cell. No decision was made by the council.
— Police officer Joe Base requested authorization from the council to apply for a 90/10 matching grant to purchase a new light bar for the car, a digital camera, a camcorder for the car and possibly a laptop. The grant has a maximum amount of $10,000 which would require a match of $1,000 from the city. Council voted 4-0 to approve the grant application with a maximum of $1,000 being paid by the city.
— Base also reported that a P.B.T. has been purchased for the police department by the Marion County Substance Abuse Organization.
— Regarding the property at Main and Buller, council member Wiens has talked to several people about putting covenants on the property when it is sold. The property would be sold for a price of $6,500 and the type of construction restricted to a single family dwelling of at least 1,200 square feet of living space with an appraised value of at least $1,000. Completion must be within a year. Council voted 4-0 to accept Wien's proposal.
