Board approves arrangement for ambulance services in Longville

WALKER - The Cass County Board Tuesday approved lease agreements and a contract with North Memorial Health Care to provide ambulance services to the Longville Ambulance District, with advanced life support to start by July 1.

The city of Longville has operated a volunteer ambulance service for many years, but declined last year to continue the service beyond Dec. 31 because of financial losses.

An unsuccessful attempt was made to form a voluntary joint powers board of townships and cities in the district. Only some of the 17 townships in the district joined the joint powers board. Only a few have paid Longville to continue service through this year.

This fall, the county board formed an Ambulance Service District with taxing powers to support a service and advertised for providers to serve the ambulance district.

Nine townships and the city of Longville paid to build about 1997 and currently own the ambulance garage at Longville.

The city owns the land under the garage.

Under lease agreements the county board signed Tuesday, Longville will lease the land to the district.

The townships will lease the building to the district, which, in turn, will lease it to the selected service provider, North Memorial Health Care. All leases are for five years.

The ambulance district will pay all maintenance costs for the ambulance garage and utility costs for the portion the ambulance district uses. The city of Longville will continue to use a portion of the building for city hall and will pay utility costs for that portion.

Administrator Robert Yochum told the board the first year service operating cost to the district under the contract with North Memorial calls for a set $306,000 subsidy. Annual costs thereafter are estimated to average about $372,000 per year as the service moves into full years rather than just a half year of offering advanced life support and because it is anticipated existing ambulance vehicles will be replaced and upgraded, he said.

The two existing ambulances and equipment will be sold for $1 to North Memorial, with a reversion clause calling for North Memorial to sell back to the ambulance district for $1 vehicles and equipment comparable to those they receive now should North Memorial cease to be the provider at a future date.

Longville will transfer the state license to operate an ambulance service to the district, which, in turn, will transfer it to North Memorial.

The state is expected to approve those transfers.

Yochum said remodeling in the garage building proposed to separate the city offices from the ambulance area is estimated to cost about $15,000. Negotiations are under way to split those costs between the district and the city, he said.

North Memorial is accepting job applications from existing Longville Ambulance employees who meet North Memorial's employment standards. Those employees would rotate among North Memorial's ambulance services in the Brainerd region.

The county board proposed when levies had to be identified to the state in September that Longville Ambulance Service Taxing District would levy $400,000 for 2007.

With the service cost for 2007 now set at $306,000 and estimated annual average expected to run about $372,000 per year, the board may exercise its option to lower the 2007 levy after truth-in-taxation public hearings at 6 p.m. Dec. 7 at the courthouse in Walker.

The board asked Yochum to approach Leech Lake Reservation to request a contribution toward Longville district ambulance services for properties within the reservation and district which are held in trust for the reservation and, thus, will not be paying for the service through property taxes.

The reservation does pay Cass County toward garbage disposal services, but currently does not pay directly toward any other county services.