Pictured, from left, are City Councilman Andrew Faulkner, R-Ward VI, City Council Finance Committee Chairwoman Kim Ecklund, R-At Large, and City Councilman Randy Daversa, R-At Large. P-J photo by Timothy Frudd

The City Council unanimously approved a second ambulance for the Jamestown Fire Department during Monday’s voting session, urging the city administration to quickly deploy the second ambulance.

City Council Finance Committee Chairwoman Kim Ecklund, R-At Large, questioned why the city administration had not moved faster to purchase and deploy a second ambulance when the City Council voted almost a year ago to add additional firefighters intended to aid with a second ambulance.

“In May of 2022, this council supported unanimously to increase the fire department personnel to a level it hadn’t seen in years by adding four additional firefighters that will be funded through ARPA,” she said. “In addition to this agreement of hiring four personnel, a gentleman’s agreement was discussed and presented to put in place an additional ambulance to service the growing increase of 911 calls.”

Eleven months after approving four additional firefighters through American Rescue Plan Act funding, Ecklund said the City Council is receiving pressure to create a safer Jamestown. She explained the council attempted to make Jamestown safer by hiring additional firefighters who were supposed to be deployed with a second ambulance to reduce pressure from volunteer fire departments that provide aid to the city.

“Where is the resolution for the ambulance that was promised?” Ecklund asked “It’s on tonight’s agenda, 11 months later, so we’ve lost 11 months of trying to develop a plan to keep those four firefighters after ARPA and generating revenue from an ambulance. 11 months later we have the four firefighters, and we have no revenue. Why did it take 11 months?”

Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the city administration has been engaging in discussions with the firefighter union to discuss the potential operation of a second ambulance.

City Council President Anthony Dolce, R-Ward II, questioned Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Coon, regarding whether the Jamestown Fire Department would be able to deploy a second ambulance without hiring eight additional firefighters. Dolce added that his question was brought up by council members at work sessions several times in the week’s leading up to Monday’s voting session; however, he wanted the public to be made aware of Coon’s answer at the meeting.

“Before this SAFER grant came out, it wasn’t even on the table, that was the discussion,” Dolce said. “We increased the number by four. We’ve hired those four extra firemen. If we purchase this ambulance, will we be able to effectively run that second ambulance?”

Coon said the city would be able to deploy a second ambulance with or without the additional firefighters proposed under the SAFER grant.

Following up with Dolce’s question to Coon, City Councilman Jeff Russell asked whether the Jamestown Fire Department would be able to operate both ambulances simultaneously with the additional four firefighters approved through ARPA funding and without the additional eight firefighters under the SAFER grant if the department had to respond to two different emergency calls in order to avoid ALSTAR or an outside agency having to respond to the calls.

“As we discussed last year, when we were deliberating hiring additional personnel with ARPA, part of that was to deploy a second ambulance,” Coon said. “We currently send a piece of fire equipment to those calls while we await a mutual aid company to respond, so the answer is yes, we will be able to deploy a second ambulance in lieu of the pumper going.”

Asked whether the Jamestown Fire Department would be able to operate the ladder truck while two ambulances were operating simultaneously without the additional eight firefighters proposed by the city administration, Coon said the Jamestown Fire Department would not have enough personnel to operate the ladder truck while both ambulances were on emergency calls.

“If we deploy a second ambulance without additional personnel, as it stands this evening, then that piece of equipment will also not be responding to a fire,” he said.

While the City Council tabled the SAFER grant resolution, the council voted unanimously to purchase a second ambulance for the Jamestown Fire Department. During Monday’s voting session, Dolce said the City Council’s decision to purchase a second city ambulance is a “step in the right direction,” adding that the city needs to quickly move forward with deploying a second ambulance to address the growing number of emergency calls in Jamestown that often requires mutual aid from volunteer fire departments.