911 Ambulance Agreement w/Rural Med Finalized; Ill Feelings Still Present

The Effingham County Board Monday voted to approve a 911 ambulance service provider agreement with Rural Med LLC. The agreement is effective May 1, and will replace a five-year contract with Abbott EMS that expires April 30.

The vote to approve the agreement with Rural Med was 5-1 with member John Perry voting No and member Elizabeth Huston abstaining from the vote. Huston abstained due to her interest in A-1 Ambulance Service. Perry voted No due to the exclusive nature of the agreement with Rural Med and feels that 911 calls should not restricted to one vendor. Member Heather Mumma was not present and Board Chairman Jim Niemann often doesn't vote other than to break a tie.

The Board also voted to make changes in the County's Ground Ambulance Service Ordinance. The changes are designed to make exclusivity only an issue in the case of 911 emergency service and eliminated ambulance services no longer operating in the county.

During the discussion, Huston read a statement that the Illinois Attorney General's office ruled that a portion of the March 14th closed session of the Board to discuss ambulance contract negotiations should have instead be conducted in open session. Huston had asked for a ruling from the AG's Office on the issue. The Board then voted 7-0 with Huston abstaining that released the minutes of the closed session to the public. In her statement, Huston shared, "I voted No on going to closed session (on March 14) related to ambulance contract negotiations. If it can be released now, it was improper to conduct this in closed session."

In response, Effingham County State's Attorney Bryan Kibler said he made a mistake in taking the matter to closed sesssion. Kibler added, though, that he took issue with Huston being involved in any of the ambulance contract matters since she owns a share of A-1 Ambulance. Kibler, who joined the meeting by phone, told Huston, "We would've had this done months ago; you (Huston) can't make procedural decisions when you have a financial interest (in ambulance business in the county). I have guys (on the Board) who want me to charge you with a felony. This is a train wreck."

There are now four ambulance services with plans to operate in Effingham County, Rural Med, A-1, Abbott and Lakeside EMS. 

Meanwhile, the Board ruled that Landfill 33 has met all of the siting criteria for a vertical expansion of the existing landfill. The plan is to raise the height of Landfill 33 to give the landfill four more years of capacity, until mid-2027. By that time, the new landfill approved last year should be in operation.

Also Monday, the Board honored members of the Effingham County Medical Reserve Corps for their aid to the County Health Department in administering COVID shots and related services during the height of the pandemic. Karen Feldkamp, who has helped oversee COVID duties for the Health Department during the pandemic, said, "There is no way we could've done it without them." Both medical and non-medical volunteers joined the effort.

(SOME MEMBERS OF THE MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS)

The Board also:

--appointed fire district trustees; Brian Lustig for the Altamont district and Steven Rudolphi for the Watson district

--appointed Democrat Bill Passalacqua, Republican Tom Freeman, and independent Reverend William Weaver to the Ethics Commission

--approved a sick leave payout for one individual County employee

--approved seeking proposals for roof repair or replacement on the County Office Building

--approved a $5,000 donation to Millroad Threshermans Association for this August's annual event

--approved a $5,000 donation to EC Jobs for operational costs

--amended the county sheriff's deputy and court security personnel capacity to allow hiring one more deputy and have one less court security person

--approved seeking grant funds for the county public transportation system

--approved bridge aid petitions for projects in West Township and Mason Township

--declared May 5 as Law Day for 2022 in co-operation with the Effingham Elks Lodge

--approved requesting proposals for a new courthouse gazebo and patio on the courthouse musuem lawn that would be handicapped-accessible