Tremont Moves Forward With Planning for Future of Ambulance Service
TREMONT—In a lightning-fast January 6 meeting the Tremont Select Board approved the bylaws for the Southwest Harbor and Tremont EMS Planning Committee, an employee recognition resolution, and a new method for getting rid of surplus town items with little monetary value. Select board members Eric Eaton and Howard Goodwin had excused absences.
BYLAWS FOR SOUTHWEST HARBOR AND TREMONT EMS PLANNING COMMITTEE
At the December 2 Tremont Select Board meeting, the board voted unanimously to authorize Town Manager Jesse Dunbar to work with the Southwest Harbor town manager to draft possible bylaws for a proposed joint committee to start working on possible solutions and collaborations to determine the future of the Southwest Harbor and Tremont Ambulance Service.
The ambulance service had made preemptive presentations to both the Tremont Select Board and the Southwest Harbor Select Board where ambulance service members cited funding issues, mostly due to Medicare reimbursement policies, and staffing issues that were having a great enough impact that the board of the nonprofit organization was worried about the future viability of the ambulance service.
At the time of the December 2 presentation to the Tremont Select Board and the following December 10 presentation to the Southwest Harbor Select Board, the ambulance service board stressed that now is the time to start planning so that the service could stay active and viable for the continued safety and well-being of the inhabitants and visitors of both Tremont and Southwest Harbor.
The ambulance service was asking that both Tremont and Southwest Harbor create a planning committee made up of members from both towns to start planning the future direction of the shared ambulance service.
At the December 10 Southwest Harbor Select Board meeting, the board authorized Town Manager Karen Reddersen to work with Dunbar in creating the committee.
At the January 6 meeting of the Tremont Select Board, the board unanimously approved a draft copy of bylaws that Dunbar had created and consulted with Reddersen on for the planning committee. The bylaws create a 12-member planning committee that would consist of;
Town manager from each town,
One select board member from each town,
Two members of each fire department (chief from each department and one member from each department),
Two members from the ambulance service,
One community member from each town.
The draft bylaws still have to be approved by the Southwest Harbor Select Board.
RESOLUTION FOR RECOGNITION OF THE SERVICE OF JOHN LARSON AS THE TOWN’S CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
After nearly ten years of service to the Town of Tremont as the town’s code enforcement officer, CEO John Larson is leaving his employment with the town. The select board unanimously approved the signing of a resolution thanking Larson and recognizing him for his service to the town.
Dunbar wrote in his manager’s memo to the select board on January 2, “John has provided a knowledgeable and invaluable service since he has been here. He left briefly in 2020 but did not hesitate to return when asked to. Mr. Larson also went above and beyond to continue his dedication to the Town of Tremont, even when he rightfully could have stepped away to take care of pressing needs in his personal life.”
Larson will be staying on for a few more days to help acclimate the town’s new CEO, Angela Chamberlain, who started on Monday, January 6, after resigning as CEO in Bar Harbor after 25 years of employment there.
DISPOSITION OF SURPLUS ITEMS OF LITTLE TO NO VALUE
Normally, towns put equipment that has been taken out of service and is no longer needed out to bid for public sale. Dunbar told the select board that the town often has very small items of little or no value that he would like to try to get rid of in a manner other than throwing them in the trash.
These items often include office supplies such as three-ring binders and while Dunbar doesn’t know if anyone would be interested in repurposing them, he would like an approved method to advertise them as available for free or simply donating them to another organization.
The select board unanimously approved a motion “that the town manager may dispose of surplus items deemed not suitable for surplus sale by bid.
The select board then entered into an executive session for the evaluation of Town Manager Jesse Dunbar.
The next meeting of the select board is scheduled for January 21 at 5 p.m. in the Harvey Kelley Meeting Room in the town office.
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