By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
The Central Joint Ambulance District will continue the search for a new substation after holding its monthly meeting at one of the proposed sites Wednesday night.
After incoming ambulance group Life Support Team reviewed the property they presented a list of 11 concerns with the proposed Biddle Road substation. As a result they were not interested in the location.
Jesse Sipes, COO for Life Support, cited concerns over garage heating, entrance issues, access to the garage, and a request of no sirens within one-half to three-quarters of a mile that would need to be addressed before the ambulance company would agree to rent the property.
Patrick Murphy who owns the property was on hand for the meeting and acknowledged the issues.
“I won’t make changes to the property without a signed contract,” Murphy said. “Another concern for me is signing a short-term contract. I am not going to jump through hoops for just a short-term contract. I am willing to make the upgrades if it is worth my while.”
Chris Kennedy of Life Support was also on hand for the meeting and noted Life Support is also looking to purchase land and build a station for use as the CJAD ambulance provider.
Corey Wright of Lifestar announced that the October CJAD meeting would be his last.
“On Nov. 1 I will be stepping down as operations manager for LifeStar. I would like to thank everybody,” Wright said.
Wright received a round of applause and thank you from the CJAD.
In Wright’s LifeStar report he noted that LifeStar received 129 calls for the month of September with an average of 4.3 calls per day.
CJAD Treasurer Milton Underwood reported that the CJAD had $14,466.15 in the group’s bank account which is unchanged from September.
The next CJAD meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Plymouth Street station.