SCWEMS to discuss Hanna MOU

The South Central Wyoming Emergency Medical Service (SCWEMS) is currently servicing the town of Hanna even though their service agreement or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) expired in April 2015. A special meeting will be held Sept. 22 to address the lack of a service agreement.

The town of Hanna did not elect to become a member of the SCWEMS Joint Powers Board (JPB) when it was formed. Tony Poulos, mayor of the town of Hanna, said “Everything that I have seen states that Hanna would at some time in the future be a member of SCWEMS,” Poulos said, adding, “Now they want to remove that from the table and now they just want us to pay a fee.”

The SCWEMS JPB was formed in 2009 by a formal agreement certified by the Attorney General of Wyoming. According to Ken Drain, chairman of the JPB, the JPB would have to be dissolved and reformed in order to include Hanna, a move he said the member entities are not willing to consider.

A review of the JPB agreement by the Saratoga Sun suggests that both Hanna and SCWEMS statements are inaccurate. The town of Hanna is not mentioned anywhere in the agreement as signed on Feb. 9, 2009 and certified March 31, 2009, showing that Poulos is incorrect in his statement. In opposition to Drain’s claim that the JPB would have to be dissolved to include Hanna, clause 16.0 in the JPB agreement states “This agreement may be amended, in whole or in part, by a written agreement by the parties and approval by the Office of the Wyoming Attorney.”

According to Drain, the ambulance service has been trying to get Hanna to sign an MOU renewing their service contract for over a year. Drain said that Hanna keeps returning the draft MOU with changes that are unacceptable to the JPB.

“Quite frankly what they want is a piece of the pie,” Drain said, adding, “They want credit for all the money they have put in since 2009.” In meetings, SCWEMS JPB board members have referred to this as an attempt at a “buy in”. Drain said what Hanna wants is a portion of the estimated $1.5 million that SCWEMS is worth if the organization were to dissolve.

Poulos said Hanna paid $173,000 over and above the rates of the other entities, referring to the higher rate for service Hanna paid compared to member communities prior to 2014. According to Drain, SCWEMS lowered Hanna’s rate to $30 per capita, the same as member entities, in July 2014.

The dispute between Hanna and SCWEMS is well established, but Drain hopes that the Sept. 22 special meeting will end in a resolution in one form or another. “The eventual outcome is varied. We can continue to service them with no agreement, or we can remove the ambulances from the town of Hanna,” Drain said.

If the ambulances are pulled from the Hanna fire station they would be moved to Medicine Bow and Elk Mountain according to Drain. This would mean increased response time to emergencies unless Hanna can find another service provider to house ambulances in town. The hope is for JPB entities to vote on whether or not to continue service in Hanan, according to Drain.

When asked if the Hanna has a plan in case the ambulances are removed Poulson said, “We do in fact, at least we have looked at it, we’ll just have to deal with that when they do it.”

Drain is hoping for a full house at the special meeting. “We have invited our medical director Dr. [Duane] Abels … we’ve invited the hospital administrators … (to ask), if we disappear out of Hanna will they take care of Hanna with the ambulance system. We’ve invited all of the county commissioners and we’ve invited all of the mayors and town councils of the other communities,” Drain said.

Poulson will not attend the meeting and does not know if a representative from Hanna will be there. “I won’t be there, I know that,” Poulson said citing a perceived hostility toward Hanna from SCWEMS.

The special meeting is open to the public and will begin at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday at the Elk Mountain Fire Station, 1549 State Highway 72.

 

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