By Casey Jarmes | The News-Review
KEOTA – During the March 3 meeting of the Keota City Council, in addition to the lengthy discussion about a vicious dog mauling, the council spoke with Keota Fire Chief Chief Ryan Sieren about renewing the agreement with the fire department. Sieren explained that the department had a fire-year agreement with the city that provided roughly $16,000 in tax dollars, plus $3,000 to be used for building maintenance, each year, that is set to expire this year. He explained that he intends to use the maintenance money to repair the water valve at the fire station, which is used to fill trucks overhead but is corroded and leaking, forcing trucks to fill up at the water tower. Councilman Mike Bender noted that Sieren had told him that the department used to just have their tankers sit full of water from the water tower, but that the tankers were now leaking. Councilman Matt Greiner asked if Sieren wanted the council to renew the agreement for three years or just one. Sieren stated it would be nice to renew yearly. The council was unable to vote on the agreement due to it not being listed as a voting item on the agenda and postponed voting until next week.
The council also spoke with Cody Davis and Taylor Zehr from Keokuk County Ambulance Service, who gave an overview of the services the ambulance service provides. This came in response to the Feb. 3 council meeting, where the council and Keokuk County Emergency Management Director Richard Fortney informally discussed the idea of setting up a Basic Life Support Transport Service in Keota to assist with medical emergencies. Davis explained that the ambulance service has eight full-time staffers, including five paramedics and three EMTs, as well as eleven part-time staff members, who handle an average of 920 calls each year. He stated that the ambulance service staffs two trucks and has a third that can be staffed at short notice if needed. He stated that the ambulance service has 28e agreements with surrounding counties to provide ambulance services as needed, and that the ambulance service partners with seven non-transport volunteer services in the community, who have the same certifications and training. He stated they rely heavily on these volunteer services, like Keota QRS, to get there in minutes, because the ambulance service, which is centrally located in Sigourney, cannot.
Davis explained that Iowa law allows counties to elect ambulance services as an essential service and fund them through a tax increase. He stated the service was working with Fortney to arrange a vote for this, but that there were a lot of unknowns at this time, for example about what type of tax would be implemented and how much money would go to the non-transport services. He stated there would be a vote on this in the future and that he hoped people would vote to fund the ambulance service through a tax increase. Davis noted that the ambulance service has recently purchased a new ambulance, which cost $300,000 for the truck alone, not including the equipment inside, which he estimated would raise the cost to around $500,000. Davis stated that, although Keokuk County Hospital and Clinics covers part of the ambulance service’s expenses, the service does not generate enough to cover these costs, worsened by the fact that the price of ambulances is increasing. Fortey stated the vote would come in November at the soonest.
Michael Carl of Keota QRS explained that his employer and the employers of other QRS volunteers allow them to go on emergency calls, under the assumption that they aren’t being paid. He explained that the truck and certification for the QRS is provided by the Keota Fire Department, but that all of the supplies they use, including things like bandages, oxygen and even ice packs, are provided by the ambulance service. He stated that the QRS makes 80 calls annually, but cannot make every call due to the cost of supplies. Zehr stated that the QRS makes 95% of the calls that come in. Carl stated that the QRS had no interest in being a transport unit and that it was unfeasible. He noted that high certification costs for EMTs.
Fortney stated that people don’t know all that the ambulance service does and that he was thinking about reaching out to other towns to have similar conversations. Mayor Tony Cansler stated that, if people know the services they provide, the ambulance service will hopefully have a better chance when the vote comes. Fortney stated that people don’t realize that ambulance services aren’t considered essential under Iowa code, meaning that tax dollars do not automatically go towards them like they do with fire and police departments.
City Administrator Alycia Horras stated that she and Public Works Director Micah Harmsen had met with a representative from Trees Forever, to discuss the Aliant Energy grant the city recently received to plant trees for horticulture fencing and a wind break at the RV park. Horras stated that the city had received $4,200 to plant 34 trees. She stated that there are more grants that the city can receive if it approves an Integrated Roadside Vegetation Plan. Harmsen noted that Trees Forever had $80,000 in unfunded grant money leftover last year. Horras stated this could be used for things like purchasing a box blade, taking down trees in rightaways, adding roadway signage, staff training, chemical storage, road grating, and tree trimming. The council approved a Integrated Roadside Vegetation Plan resolution, pledging to support a series of goals relating to keeping scenic, environmentally friendly, self-sustaining plant life on the sides of roadways throughout Keota.
