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12/13/2016 11:20 AMA special town meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 20 in the upstairs conference room # 1 at North Haven Memorial Town Hall to discuss and vote on the purchase of a new ambulance. The North Haven Fire Commission, Board of Finance, and Board of Selectmen propose appropriating $193,000 from the town’s unappropriated fund balance to pay for the new vehicle.
The North Haven Fire Department currently has two ambulances, but the backup ambulance, which was built in 2008, has had electrical and engine issues. At one point, it was out of service for nearly three months.
“It’s just not reliable anymore,” said Fire Chief Paul Januszewski. “It comes down to our ability to provide the service we’re providing now. Our call volume is just getting higher.”
Januszewski noted that through Dec. 7, the North Haven Fire Department has responded to about 4,000 calls with rescue response required on about 85 percent of those.
If residents vote to approve the funds, the primary ambulance, built in 2013 and acquired as new in 2014, will become the secondary vehicle. Januszewski said with the call volume the NHFD receives, the ambulance that will be retired has reached its “lifespan.”
First Selectman Mike Freda agreed that a new ambulance is necessary, pointing out that several residents who have had to use 911 services over the past few years spoke on the importance of response times at the Board of Selectman meeting.
“We cannot have any response times compromised in the event of a 911 call,” said Freda. “This is something that is really needed, but the citizens need to vote on it [at the Town Meeting].”
At the meeting on Dec. 20, Januszewski will give a brief presentation outlining the need for the new vehicle. Residents can then ask questions or voice concerns before the vote. If approved, Freda said that the town had two options.
“We could take this out of our contingency emergency fund, but we didn’t want to tap into that just five months into fiscal year, so we pursued the option for it to come out of the town’s fund balance, or rainy day fund,” said Freda. “This is one of the advantages of having a strong financial government—we do have a healthy rainy day fund.”