Wants to talk to W. Brandywine about cost sharing
By Jamie Richard, Staff Writer, The Times
While West Caln would like West Brandywine to pay its share of fuel costs for the Westwood EMT unit stationed in Wagontown, West Brandywine supervisors say they are unwilling to renegotiate the deal which expires at the end of the year.
WEST BRANDYWINE – Thursday’s board of supervisor’s meeting featured correspondence from West Caln, stating that officials there would like to have a joint meeting with West Brandywine in September to discuss the contract for the Westwood ambulance service.
The Westwood ambulance operates out of the Wagontown Fire Company and has been providing service to both townships since Martin’s Corner discontinued its ambulance service last August. The current contract runs until the end of the year.
Under the current contract, West Caln pays for all of the ambulance’s fuel expenses. Due to budget constraints, West Caln officials say they would like to only pay for fuel used within their township. Although the West Brandywine supervisors say they sympathize with West Caln, they are unwilling to renegotiate the contract prior to its termination at the end of the year.
“I understand it’s a startup and we want to help West Caln…but I’m not willing to reopen a contract and negotiate fuel until this contract expires,” said board member William Webb.
Board supervisor Thomas McCaffrey stated that he would consider paying for fuel, but would prefer to rebid the contracts to allow other ambulance services to make offers in an effort to get the best possible deal for the township. Board president Josef Obernier stated that the township had never paid for fuel for Martin’s Corner, but is now receiving full-time service and faster response times from Westwood.
“We’re receiving a much higher level of service,” said Obernier.
Westwood Ambulance Chief John Sly informed the board that there was no intent by anyone to open the contract before it ended; he also stated that the ambulance company does not need contribution from the townships, but does require reimbursement for fuel since the amount of income from fund drives has dwindled.
“The ambulance service struggles with the same economy and issues we all do,” said Sly.
According to Sly, Westwood has received approximately $41,000 in donations this year, as compared to Marcus Hook, which previously received approximately $71,000. All residents who donate receive a discount on ambulance service.
In other business, the board repealed Ordinance 2012-04: Dog Barking and Noise Ordinance.
At a previous meeting on Aug. 2, the board of supervisors discussed repealing some of their nuisance ordinances, as they felt many of the ordinances had arisen out of private disputes between residents, rather than community-wide issues.
It’s an ordinance that just doesn’t make sense…it’s been on our books and we can’t enforce it,” said Obernier.
Supervisor Thomas McCaffrey echoed Obernier sentiments, stating the ordinance was a waste of police resources as well as township money. Under the ordinance, police officers were required to monitor noise from a residence using a noise meter, each of which costs approximately $3,000.
“I’m hard-pressed to pay a cop to monitor how loud a dog is barking and I’m hard-pressed to spend three grand on a noise meter,” said McCaffrey.
The board of supervisors will have their next meeting on Sept. 6.
