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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDocumentation_Regular_Tab 8A_10/10/1996 T jarV VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA PUBLIC SAFETY COMMI II F E MEETING MINUTES • SEPTEMBER 26, 1996 I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Tequesta Public Safety Committee held a regularly scheduled meeting at the Village Hall, 357 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta, Florida, on Thursday, September 26, 1996. The meeting was called to order at 5: 00 P.M. by Chairman Joseph Capretta. A roll call was taken by Betty Laur, the Recording Secretary. In attendance were: Chairman Joseph Capretta, and Committeemembers Carl C. Hansen and Elizabeth A. Schauer. Village Staff present were: Village Manager Thomas G. Bradford and Department Heads. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Village Manager Bradford requested the addition of two items under ANY OTHER. MATTERS, discussion of whether the Village • could help the safety situation at the November 3 Jupiter- Tequesta Junior Womens Club Arts & Craft Fair; and information regarding the October EMS Grant Award. C ,mmitteemember Schauer made a motion to approve the Agenda as submitted. Committeemember Hansen seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was: Joseph N. Capretta - for Carl C. Hansen - for Elizabeth Schauer - for PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES • SEPTEMBER 26, 1996 PAGE 2 The motion was therefore passed and adapted and the Agenda was approved as amended. III . COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS There were no communications from citizens. IV. REVIEW OF FACTORS RELATED TO CON FOR AMBULANCE TRANSPORT Chairman Capretta commented that the Village must choose which application, ALS non-transport or ALS transport, they desired to submit to meet the October 2, 1996 deadline. At the present time, the Village held the non-transport license, which meant that in an emergency paramedics answered the call and administered medical procedures; however, transport to the hospital was done by Jupiter Medical Service ambulances. Approximately three years ago, Jupiter Medical Service had assumed the assets of North County Ambulance Service, which had been started by Tequesta residents . Chairman Capretta explained that the Village had planned to contract with . Jupiter Medical Service for transport; however, the County would not allow such an arrangement, and also had changed the license to cover a four-year period rather than the previous two years. Chairman Capretta commented that if the Village kept their present non-transport license and the hospital' s ambulance service went out of business, the Village would have secured ambulance service from someone else, which carried the risk of increased response times. If the Village applied for a transport license, they must provide ambulances and equipment. Chairman Capretta stated that a decision must be made at this meeting because of the October 2 deadline for application submittal. • Fire Chief Weinand explained that the Village had intended to apply for a transport CON (Certificate of Necessity) and to contract with Jupiter Medical for ambulance service; however, the County EMS office had recently informed the Village that could not be done. Chief Weinand commented that at the last Public Safety meeting. the consensus had been to apply for the transport CON; therefore, costs had been researched and would • PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 26, 1996 PAGE 3 be discussed at tonight's meeting to be sure the Committee was comfortable with that decision before proceeding forward. Chief Weinand referred to the report provided to the Committee which outlined the annual cost for ambulance transport service on a 12-month basis, and explained that there would be no personnel costs since present staff would be used. Costs would include insurance; general and vehicle maintenance; communication maintenance; office, safety and medical supplies; and miscellaneous. A debt service payment of $30,000 annually for 10 years was included for purchase of two equipped ambulances. A chart showing annual revenue based on 1995 statistics was reviewed, which indicated the revenue the Village would have received if they had been transporting during 1995, and showed that the dollar amount which would have been realized at various collection rate percentages from 75% to 90% would have been $16, 656 to $29,321 . An 80% collection rate had been used as the basis for the report, since research had revealed that the present collection rate in this area was between 80% and 90%. Chief Weinand reported that the present collection rate for Palm Beach Gardens was approximately 85% . Chief Weinand reported that in every scenario, even one using a 75% collection rate, the program showed a net income rather than a loss. Chief Weinand reviewed a chart of 1996 ambulance service fees which averaged fees from all private and public providers in Palm Beach County, and commented that LifeFleet had the highest ALS fee and covered all of Palm Beach County from Boca Raton to Donald Ross Road except for the western portion of the county. Chief Weinand commented that the Village Council would set Tequesta's fee, and stated that his recommendation was for a flat rate fee. Chief Weinand explained that the difference between BLS, Basic Life Support, and ALS, Advanced Life Support, was that ALS included IV therapy or drugs while BLS was only transport of a sick person. The recommended flat rate of $300 plus mileage from Tequesta to Jupiter Medical Center resulted in a ;ate of $326 per call, which had been used with the actual number of 1995 calls to calculate the total amount of annual charges. The result had been $84, 434 for Tequesta Fire PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 26, 1996 PAGE 4 Rescue using the flat rate, and $86,914 for Jupiter Medical Center, whose rates were tiered, showing that even though the flat charge appeared higher that it was actually less costly for the patient. Vice Mayor Schauer inquired who' would take care of billing, to which Chief Weinand responded that West Palm Beach would provide up to five billings for $6.25 per call, and if it . became necessary to involve a collection agency that the cost would be higher. Another possibility suggested by Chief Weinand was to have billing done by present Village personnel; however, software would need to be purchased. Chief Weinand explained that software research was 'currently being conducted. The Vice Mayor commented that the billings for North County Ambulance Service had been done by volunteers, many of who still lived in the Village. Chief Weinand reviewed a chart for FY 1996-1997 Budget Expenditures, which showed the amounts needed in the budget for the nine-month period from 1/1/97 to 9/30/97 in order to operate the program. Net income was somewhat lower than discussed earlier since a full year of debt service was included with only nine months revenue. Chief Weinand explained that start-up costs had been calculated on a worst-case scenario with two ambulances at $100,000 each; however, the Chief believed that one $100, 000 ambulance could be used with a backup ambulance which could be purchased for approximately $65, 000. Chief Weinand described various pieces of equipment which would be needed. A one-time initial ambulance stock would be necessary, which would be two to three times the amount normally needed on a call, but which would also replace inventory. A chart of EMS calls for the past five years showed that the volume of calls had increased each year. One funding group had been contacted to date, which had offered a proposal of a $220,000 note over either a seven or ten-year term, with the first payment due October 1, 1997. This would allow the Village to collect all of the 1996 revenue before a payment was due, and to have funds available PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE M+lEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 26, 1996 PAGE 5 if housing modifications were needed for storage, etc. Chief Weinand reported that other financing options were in the process of being obtained, so that the best one for the Village could be chosen. In response to Councilmember Hansen's questions regarding storage, Chief Weinand commented that the ambulances must be kept in a secured area because of narcotics stored on them, and that storage options included (1) pouring a slab between the building and the generator fuel tank with a covered roof and perimeter fencing; (2) an addition onto the No. 1 bay; or (3) removing the present EMS storage room and decon facility. The centralized garage might be used for storage and decon. Chairman Capretta questioned what would happen if the Village decided to apply for the non-transport license. Chief Weinand explained that the Village would continue to be a non-transport provider and would continue to use ambulance service provided by Jupiter Medical Service. If rumors were accurate and the ambulance service were sold, then both rates and response times would increase. Similar problems had been experienced by North Palm Beach, who was now going into transport, and by Lake Park, who was entering the ALS business. Chairman Capretta questioned the County organization in regard to CON, to which Chief Weinand responded that this was an additional layer of bureaucracy in Palm Beach County that did not exist in other counties; and that normally a city would receive their license from the State. Chief Weinand explained that the County was licensed for ALS but not for BLS, which they had agreed to leave for private firms; and that LifeFleet would not do ALS unless requested by the County. LifeFleet could do ALS inter- facility transport between hospitals, which municipalities were prohibited from doing by law. Chief Weinand confirmed that the Village would be able to perform both BLS and ALS under the ALS transport license. Chairman Capretta questioned why North County Ambulance Service had turned its assets over to Jupiter Medical Service, to which Village Manager Bradford responded that the Village Council had wanted to make sure that ambulance PUBLIC SAFETY COMbMITTEE MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 26, 1996 PAGE 6 service issues which came out of the Public Safety referendum were handled properly, and therefore, he had become a member of the Board of Directors of North County Ambulance. In the early 1990s the process had begun of determining whether to stay in business as a quasi-volunteer organization, to sell out to a private company, or to join Jupiter Medical Center, which they ultimately did. Village Manager Bradford explained that North County needed an organization with deep pockets because of the poor track record of their volunteers in collecting fees, and did not want to operate as a full- time business. They therefore had transferred their assets to Jupiter Ambulance, Inc. , a non-profit organization, who • still owned the building. Councilmember Hansen questioned whether used ambulances had been considered. Chief Weinand replied that was a possibility, however, one that was too used would be undesirable because of the frequency that it would be on the street. Village Manager Bradford explained that Jupiter Medical Center had not yet been approached regarding the possibility of obtaining ambulances from them. Councilmember Hansen inquired whether the Village would have three months to obtain equipment and pass inspection, to which Chief Weinand responded that the Village would have three months before beginning operations, however, the inspection by the County EMS would be in the middle of December, so that in reality only 2-1/2 months would be available in which to prepare, but that was adequate time to get everything ready. Chief Weinand reported he had spoken with two vendors, the largest one located in Orlando, who would supply loaner ambulances if those ordered by the Village were not ready, and that loaners could be used for inspection purposes. If the Village ordered vehicles with 1996 stock chassis in early October they could be built by early December. The Village would piggyback onto other communities' bids (probably .the Town of Palm Beach) because of insufficient time to go through a formal bid process. During discussion of response times, Chief Weinand explained that Tequesta had not had much of a problem, but there had been one or two occasions where the 10-minute response time had not been met; however, Jupiter Medical had still met the PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 26, 1996 PAGE 7 • Councilmember Hansen commented that a positive reason to consider transport was that now the Village was paying for use of someone else's equipment and also their personnel to operate that equipment, when Village staff was available who could perform the same services and were already being paid by tax dollars. Chief Weinand commented that there had been an average of 1-1/2 ambulance transports each day. Councilmember Capretta commented that the decision to transport would contribute to the lack of adequate facility space, and that the Village would soon have to come up with a comprehensive plan for facilities. During discussion of personnel, Chief Weinand reported there were 17 firefighters including himself, with seven of them qualified as paramedics and one still in school . Two paramedics were on duty each day. Police Lieutenant Garlo explained that all police officers had received first responder training certifications. Chief Weinand explained that ongoing training was conducted with the Police Department, and also commented that 60% of calls received would be answered by a police car and ambulance;. keeping the fire truck off the road except for serious cases. Betty Nagy questioned the necessity of providing apartments for firefighters. Chief Weinand responded that the fire station provided living quarters for firefighters . Village Manager Bradford explained that the idea of constructing apartments which had been discussed in previous meetings was • not to provide quarters for firefighters, but for operation of a program similar to the Peace Corp where individuals would donate their services for 2-4 years under an apprenticeship in exchange for room and board. The Village Manager said that debt service for this arrangement would be cheaper than hiring additional full-time personnel, that Tequesta would be the innovator of this concept since it was not being used by other municipalities, and that volunteers for the program had already contacted the Village. Committeemember Hansen made a motion to proceed with an ALS transport Certificate of Necessity for four years beginning January 1, 1997. Committeemember Schauer seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was: PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 26, 1996 PAGE 8 Joseph N. Capretta - for Carl C. Hansen - for Elizabeth Schauer - for The motion was therefore passed and adopted. Chief Weinand stated that positives would be the reduction of emergency vehicles on the roads, and that the Village would have four emergency vehicles instead of two in the event of a hurricane. Village Manager Bradford requested that Chief Weinand consult with Finance Director Kascavelis to be certain that funds were available within the budget for startup and possible renovations. Chief Weinand reported that he had discussed the matter with Mr. Kascavelis that day and it had been determined that the $12,000 quarterly cash flow needed could come from surplus in the General Corporate Account. Vice Mayor Schauer suggested a dinner dance fundraiser for the Police and Fire Departments. Village Manager Bradford advised that the Village should be ready for inspection in November. Chief Weinand explained that the EMS Council would make a recommendation in November to the County Commission regarding their choice of bidders, so that the Commission could make the bid award in November, contingent on inspection by December 31. Village Manager Bradford reported that he had learned from John Turner, a volunteer at Jupiter Hospital Emergency Room, that all Jupiter police officers were being trained in the use of a $500 semi-automatic defibrillator device which would allow emergency treatment by the officer before arrival of the ambulance. Chief Weinand explained that he and former Police Chief Roderick had researched the devices, but had concluded that since Tequesta's response times were so low that they were not necessary. Because the difference in police and EMS response time was usually only one minute, • police would not have time to set up the unit before EMS arrived. V. ANT OTHER MATTERS PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 26, 1996 PAGE 9 Village Manager Bradford explained that because of the parking problems last year at the Jupiter Tequesta Junior Womens Club Arts & Craft Fair, Councilmember Meder had questioned whether the Village could do anything to help the situation at this year's event, however, the Village had no jurisdiction in Tequesta Park. Councilmember Meder questioned whether the support of either the County Sheriff or Park Police could be enlisted, and commented that although the Martin County Sheriff's Department did not help, they did show up to write tickets, which made Tequesta look bad. During discussion, a suggestion was made that the Village Manager recommend to the Jupiter Tequesta Junior Womens Club that they request assistance from Martin County. Use of a Tequesta Police Officer was discussed. Lieutenant Garlo expressed his unwillingness to place a uniformed officer in an area out of Tequesta's jurisdiction. It was pointed out that the Village could have an officer at the parking area within the Village. A decision was made to have the Tequesta Police Department contact the Martin County Sheriff's Office, and also to have Village Manager Bradford outline in his letter to the Jupiter Tequesta Junior Womens Club steps they might want to take to assure the success of their event, one of which would be to contact the Martin County Sheriff's Department. Village Manager Bradford explained that an agenda item for the October 10 meeting of the Village Council would be consideration of a resolution approving the EMS grant from Palm Beach County which would be used to purchase an IV pump. Vice Mayor Schauer's idea to hold a fundraiser dinner dance to benefit the Police and. Fire Departments was discussed. Vice Mayor Schauer commented that she had discussed the idea with the Chief's wife and that with the help of someone from the Police Department, the three of them could organize the event. Village Manager Bradford explained that the alcohol policy should probably be changed at the Recreation Center because of many calls from potential renters of the facility who wanted to serve alcohol at those events. Other possible locations suggested were the Country Club, the American Legion Hall, the Hilton, the Elks, and the Jupiter Inlet PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 26, 1996 PAGE 10 • Colony Club, however, it was stated that use of the club was restricted to Jupiter Inlet Colony members. The high prices of the food at the Country Club were discussed. Vice Mayor Schauer suggested a 50/50 raffle at the event. Councilmember Capretta suggested holding the event on a Friday or Saturday, and to ask for contributions from local businessmen and to ask wealthy citizens to buy ten tickets instead of one. The Vice Mayor suggested that the Police Department and the Fire Department each make up a wish list, and that an announcement could be made at the event of what the money raised would be used to purchase. Consensus of the Committee was to have Vice Mayor Schauer proceed with plans for this event. VI. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 6:06 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Betty Laur Recording Secretary ATTEST: Joann Manganiello Village Clerk DATE APPROVED: