DECATUR — Decatur city council members voted at their November meeting to offer the Gravette Fire Department a $5,000 reimbursement for ambulance services this year.
Decatur began negotiations with Gravette in September and paid the ambulance service $1,000 for past services as a gesture of good will.
The offer is half of the $10,000 Gravette requested Decatur pay for ambulance service. The Gravette ambulance service makes about 100 calls for service in Decatur a year, so $10,000 would average about $100 per call and $5,000 would average $50 per call, Decatur Mayor Charles Linam said.
In comparison, Bentonville is asking Centerton for a reimbursement of around $450 per call. At that rate, Decatur would pay about $45,000 a year for ambulance service, Linam said.
“My thinking is if we could go up to $5,000 this year, then next year we can look at it again,” Linam said.
Another option would befor Decatur to have its own ambulance service, but council members agreed it would be exponentially more expensive.
“If we offer them nothing, they are still going to provide us with ambulance service, but it’s not right,” Linam said.
State law requires cities to reimburse outside ambulance services for their cost. The law has been in effect for some time, but was brought to light by the recent controversy between Bentonville, Centerton and the county.
The fees are in addition towhat the ambulance service charges patients and their insurance companies for service. Ambulance companies are required to provide service whether or not their patients have the ability to pay, even on an outstanding bill, Decatur Fire Chief David Flynt explained. For some uninsured patients, the ambulance service will never get any compensation, he said.
Sidewalk Project
Linam announced the city will be opening bids at 11 a.m., Nov. 30, for the extension of the sidewalkon Arkansas Highway 102 starting at Prather Street - across the street from the post office - and continuing to the high school.
The Arkansas Highway Department announced in June 2011 that Decatur was chosen to receive $100,000 in federal aid enhancement funds for the sidewalk project.
Former Mayor Bill Montgomery applied for the grant to build a sidewalk connecting the neighborhoods around Veteran’s Park with the Northside Elementary School on Mount Olive Road.
City council members expressed concerns about the location and safety of the proposed sidewalk. In December of 2011, they suggested moving the sidewalk to its current location to serve high school students who are presumably old enough to walk to school, instead of elementary school students.
Mayor Charles Linam successfully negotiated with the highway department to move the sidewalk.
“It’ll get better use up there,” councilwoman Sandy Duncan said at the November meeting.
Sports, Pages 11 on 11/28/2012