Loading...
Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board Minutes - 02/22/2022 City of Wichita Falls EMS Advisory Board •Tri 44 Minutes T February 22, 2022 Rime 5pe5.*lam, me Call to Order The EMS Advisory Board was called to order at 9:02am by acting chair Ken Prillaman. Members present included: • Darron Leiker, City Manager, COWF • Ken Prillaman, Fire Chief, COWF • Lawrence Cutrone, City Administrator, Burkburnett • Woody Gossom, Judge, Wichita County • Dr. John Hilmi, City Physician Appointee • Nancy Berend, City At-large Appointee Board members absent: • Jerry Fleming, City Administrator, Iowa Park • Dan King, Iowa Park/Burkburnett At-large Appointee • Dr Scott Myers, County At-large Appointee Guests present: • Kinley Hegglund, City Attorney • Donald Hughes, Deputy Chief, Wichita Falls Fire • Kenny Hoffman, AMR • Pete Wolf, AMR • Harold Watkins, Fire Chief— Burkburnett Oath of Office Acting Chair Ken Prillaman passed out oaths of office and administered the oath to all board members who were present. Additionally, members were instructed on the role of the advisory board, and requirements to complete the disclosure form, the Statement of Officer form and how to complete the required OMA and PIA training. Election of Board Chairperson Darron Leiker nominated Fire Chief Ken Prillaman to serve as Chair. The nomination was seconded by Lawrence Cutrone. There were no other nominations and Chief Prillaman was elected by unanimous consent. Discuss Possible Changes to EMS Advisory Board Membership Judge Gossom had submitted a written request to "add" the county emergency management coordinator to the committee. Additionally, it was noted that SAFB, although a party to the agreement, did not have representation on the board. The issue of adding a county representative was discussed. It was noted that the ordinance allows for the Judge to authorize a representative who could attend in his absence. The group discussed the benefit of allowing the incoming Judge to make a determination about the county's representation at which point the discussion ended without a recommendation for change. Kenny Hoffman and Harold Watkins offered some historical clarity surrounding the issue of SAFB representation. It appears that SAFB discontinued their own ambulance response and came into this agreement, but were not included in the ordinance. It was agreed upon by the board that the Chair will extend an invitation to the Fire Chief at SAFB to attend future meetings. AMR Performance Data and Contract Renewal The contract with AMR includes specific performance requirements and penalties for not meeting those requirements. A detailed look at the language in Section 7 of the agreement, shows some ambiguities that would make it difficult for any of the parties to the agreement to use to hold AMR accountable for their performance. In addition, the ambiguity leaves AMR uncertain as to the measurement being used. A discussion ensued regarding the ability to clarify the language as part of the upcoming renewal of the contract (the contract allows for five, one-year extensions) and eliminate ambiguities in that section. Kinley Hegglund suggested that the language could be clarified, without triggering the need to take the agreement out for bid as he didn't see the clarifying language as a material change. Most of the ambiguity revolves around the calculation of response times. The contract offers two methodologies without enough clarity surrounding which calls are to be used in the calculation. Chair Prillaman suggested that instead of the board taking time to try and resolve the language, that a working committee made up of the Fire Chief's of the entities serviced by the agreement be established and that the working committee would make recommendations to the board at a meeting in September. This gives us time to resolve the ambiguities and allow AMR to view draft language before the expiration of the right to extend the agreement. Chief Prillaman suggested that he also chair the working committee. Darron Leiker made a motion to that effect, seconded by Dr. Hilmi, and the motion passed 6-0. AMR, who has until August 20 to serve notice of their intent to exercise their first one-year extension, asked about exchanging the five, one-year extensions for a five-year renewal. Mr. Hegglund thought that this could be considered a material change and could not be done without an RFP. AMR shared that they are negotiating for new leased space for their operation, and the landlord would be more comfortable with the tenant buildout costs if AMR had a longer contract. The board discussed the willingness to send the agreement out again for an RFP, but didn't believe we had enough time to do so before this upcoming renewal. COVID Update AMR shared that their largest struggle throughout the COVID pandemic has been staffing and that recently AMR approved a significant pay increase for their medical response personnel. As a result, AMR is reporting that as of today, they are fully staffed. Other Business • AMR reported that although the agreement calls for 4 ambulances during the day and three overnight, that they have added an additional ambulance very third day to help offset increased call volume. • Judge Gossom raised the question of franchise fees and whether or not AMR had paid them and whether or not the City of Wichita Falls had distributed those. Several attendees commented that they believe that all fees have been received by the COWF and redistributed per the agreement, but for clarity we will check with Finance and report back to the entities. • Next meeting set for September 8 at 9:00 am in the Wichita Falls Council Conference Room. Adjourn Chairman Ken Prillaman adjourned the meeting at 10:10 am.