Funding and litigation issues continue to plague Williamstown

Mayor Mark Christopher called the Williamstown City Council to order on March 4 with a full chamber and the full council in attendance. The main topic of discussion was emergency medical services for the city.

At this time, the City of Dry Ridge provides ambulance services for Grant County and most of its cities utilizing a three-year Interlocal Agreement.

With the initial agreement expiring, Dry Ridge has developed a similar agreement. According to Dry Ridge’s documents, however, significant raises in costs and personnel have resulted in cost increases for the county and cities.

Williamstown’s cost will increase 35.32%, going from $261,573.26 per year to $404,424.80 per year for life of the three-year agreement.

Due to the increase, Williamstown Fire Chief Les Whalen was asked to look into whether the city could develop its own ambulance service.

There were differences of opinions of the necessity of either a BLS, or Basic Life Service, ambulance versus an ALS, or Advanced Life Services, ambulance.

According to the American Red Cross, BLS is the “set of life-saving medical procedures performed in the early stages of an emergency ... the goal is to simply maintain the life functions of a person who is having a medical emergency, like cardiac arrest or respiratory failure, until more advanced medical care can be provided.”

ALS offers more advanced care. “The goal is to stabilize critical patients who may have suffered a life-saving event like cardiac arrest, acute coronary syndrome, or stroke, while preparing them for transport to a hospital in a pre-hospital setting, like an ambulance or another emergency vehicle.”

ALS staffing and equipment are much more costly and technically advanced.

Whalen said the city could develop a BLS system for roughly $300,000 to $350,000 in initial costs and maintain it for $250,000 per year, including personnel and equipment.

Any resulting additional costs from increases in EMS fees would more than likely be passed on to citizens via utility bills such as electric and garbage handling. Whalen said costs to citizens would not increase from the current $13 per month garbage fees with his plan.

According to Dry Ridge City Administrator Ken Little, the Interlocal Agreement needs to be signed by April 1.

After the meeting, Little clarified the numbers: “Over the term of the last contract ... we had billed out over $6 million in billing and received back almost $900,000 per year.” He said they have to pay 6.25% of that to ”collect monies.”

He strongly recommends the “county and cities come together to provide a countywide EMS Fire Service. That’s what needs to happen here.”

Public comments

• Sara Lawson, who works in the emergency department of St. Elizabeth, asked what will happen if ALS is needed for a heart attack and Williamstown has BLS?

Whalen said the “mutual aid agreement” means Dry Ridge would respond when needed.

• Patrick Whalen, citizen and fire department member, said “Public service has always been a burden on the taxpayers.” He said “At the end of the day, all patients get BLS to some certain degree.” He said “30 minute response times is unacceptable” but related an “in-house ambulance” kept in Williamstown would reduce time. The EMT’s can temporarily stabilize patients to get them to appropriate hospitals.

Council tabled the issue until the March 19 meeting. Whalen will research costs for an ALS service. Christopher said in the meantime, meetings with Dry Ridge and the county could be conducted to determine how to move forward.

Wastewater Line Extension

In letter dated March 22, 2022, then Mayor Rick Skinner committed to Sunrise Street developer Jeff Dunaway that “the cost of the installation of the waste waterline parallel to Sunrise Street the length of your property will be at the expense of The City of Williamstown.” It related it was “customary” for the city to “bring the utilities to the property.”

Christopher said the cost of the project had been estimated at $241,196.40.

Plans had been drawn up by Logan Murphy of Hicks and Mann “using an existing and recorded easement…going behind Family Worship Center (FWC)” to connect lines.

Jason Dunaway, son of Jeff, addressed the council concerning the project. He noted instead of running the lines “in behind” of the FWC, it would be approximately $60,000 cheaper to run them in front.

The project has been postponed for two years and, according to Dunaway, there are at least three homes ready to be built.

Christopher noted, “Since this decision was made before my time in office, I feel we have to honor it,” but the “question is how?”

According to City Clerk Vivian Link, to satisfy the agreement would entail a loan for the Wastewater Department. After discussion, council decided to table the decision until the March 19 meeting.

Ordinances:

First Reading conducted: Ordinance 2024-02, “Amending the Official Williamstown Zoning Ordinance to Change the Zoning Map and Re-Classify and Approximate 17.6589 Acre Parcel of Real Estate within the City Limits with Parcel Number 059-00-00-038.00 that is Located on Roselawn Drive at the Terminus from Residential-Two (R-2) to Agricultural-One (A-1)”

Second Reading conducted: Ordinance 2024-01 “Consensual Annexation Ordinance annexing 22.49 acres, more or less, into the City limits that is owned by Royal Property Group, LLC, and located on the south side of Kentucky 36 West (Stewartsville Road) and the west side of Heeking Clarks Creek Road.” Ordinance was unanimously approved.

Miscellaneous

• Katie Jo Kirkpatrick with Northern Kentucky Area Development District (KYADD) addressed the council concerning the 2024 Northern Kentucky Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.

This is a five-year preparedness plan for emergencies such as tornadoes, flooding and windstorms.

“iI something should happen, you could get back online as quickly as possible,” Kirkpatrick said. Approving the plan will not only help with readiness for emergencies, it will help in obtaining grants for emergency preparedness.

Council approved the resolution to adopt the 2024 Northern Kentucky Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.

• Frank Conrad addressed the council concerning speeding on Cynthiana Street. Apparently, there are also issues with speeding on Ridgelea. Speed bumps are not an option due to their being torn up by snowplows, causing potholes to develop.

One possible solution is to use the city’s “speed box,” which digitally shows drivers how fast they are going. Council agreed to look into the situation, including the possibility of more police presence and speed signs.

• On the subject of parks, Christopher said they are looking at possibly employing cameras to monitor the city and its parks. The city is also looking at improvements and seeking grants to fund those improvements for the parks. The city has received a grant for additions to the parks, including handicap accessible equipment.

• City Offices will be closed Friday, March 29 for the Good Friday Holiday.

Council adjourned into closed session to discuss pending litigation with MGP.

The next scheduled meeting will be the regular meeting on Monday, March 19 at 6 p.m. at 400 North Main Street Williamstown. For more information, contact 859-824-3633.