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Messages - resqmas701
1
« on: April 23, 2013, 06:55:18 PM »
I am saddened by the news of Doug's passing. He will be missed. My thoughts and prayers go to the Stewart family.
2
« on: April 02, 2013, 04:08:01 PM »
In the end I am not sure that anyone "screwed" anyone. The initial idea of the lease to own was a good one. I certainly understand the position that the select board was in. They have a lot of builders who want water allocations but they have no allocations to give. They were very kind to give rescue an allocation out of the municipal reserve. If they had given Mr Handy an allocation from reserve I am sure many builders would have questioned it regardless what it was being used for. In the end rescue probably made out better financially by purchasing. We were guaranteed a cost of 288,000.00 for the building. The actual costs have run much higher with Mr Handy absorbing that difference. If we had gone with the lease purchase our monthly payments would have been significantly higher. In the end I think we had the best of both worlds, a guaranteed cost that we could afford. It also gives us a good comfortable place to put up all of the folks who are there to help all of you folks when you need it. It is my true belief that the new facility will make it easier to attract new volunteers and keep the ones that we have.
3
« on: March 27, 2013, 06:44:02 PM »
Happy Birthday Orman!!!!
4
« on: March 27, 2013, 06:20:32 PM »
I stand chastised by several persons for not answering one question from Lena about the person responsible for the building doing a 360. When I first logged on I did not see that initially. I am not sure what Lena was referring to but I suspect that she is referring to Gabe Handy and his initial offer to build the building and lease it to us. I will say that was his opening offer. I would also say that if it had happened we still would have had to pay for the building. We would have saved the interest on the loan. I will also say that it was NOT Mr Handy who did a 360. The select board of the town of Fairfax said they would not grant water rights for the rescue building if it was being leased from Mr Handy. That meant that we had to purchase the building and thus get a loan. When we were unable to get a loan from our own bank (very tough for non profits because they don't operate at a profit), Mr Handy took his time to locate a bank that would work with us. He also served as the general contractor for the project at no cost. He also built the building with his own money so that we did not have to go to the bank for a building loan. This meant that we did not have to make any payments or start paying interest until we take possession of the building. Mr Handy also made a guarantee that we would pay no more than $288,000.000 for a building that has been appraised by the bank at $400,000.00 plus. I can tell you that Mr Handy left us in charge of the checkbook for the project so I am aware of what the building costs are. I also will say that it would appear that the actual costs will be tens of thousands more than $288,000.00 which Mr Handy will absorb out of his own pocket. So did Mr Handy do a 360 on us? I would say definitely not....
5
« on: March 27, 2013, 04:44:24 PM »
Everyone here has valid thoughts here. Yes there was an increase this year as there has been in years past. I remember one year when it was nearly 76,000.00 and I remember years when it was 10,000.00. We are an evolving business and because of that we need to try to do what is best for the business and for the people we serve. This year we are adding a much needed piece of equipment to replace one that is becoming outdated. That is where most of the increase this year is going. Medical equipment and supplies are expensive. If you have been to the doctor or the hospital lately, surely you know this. Emergency medicine is not profitable either. We lose money on a fair share of the calls that we take. Unlike family doctors we can not refuse to provide care for all but the ones we makea profit from.
While you may not "have a say" in how we spend the money, we are certainly transparent about how we intend to spend the money every year. We publish our budget in the town report along with what our budget was for the previous two years. We are not required to do that but we want to be as transparent as possible. Somebody mentioned this but I will restate it. We are providing care that is as good or better than anyone else at half the cost that others are paying. Why is that? Because of all of the people who volunteer their time to come help you for no other reason than that it makes them feel good. Yes I am paid to run the business end of things but I made it clear when I took the job that I was not interested in it if I could not also do my volunteer time.
I am personally offended by the statement that rescue is not part of the community. Who do you think these people are that get out of bed and come to you in the middle of the night and under the worst possible conditions to help you when you need it. Lena does know this because she was there when rescue started all those years ago with a handful of people who wanted to help. Back then we did not have an ambulance but had to rely on the local hearse to take you to the hospital. It was certainly cheaper then but is that what we really want to go back to?
I have said many times before and will say it again, for those that want to get the costs of providing EMS service lower, get yourself on over to rescue and join up. For every 4 new people who volunteer their time we will be able to cut close to 10,000.00 out of the budget. We need more volunteers. More volunteers means fewer paid people. So you all can make a difference if you really want to. It is pretty easy to take shots at people through a forum but it takes someone with stones to step up and do something about it.
Back to the second ambulance again. We had a 10 year old ambulance that due to age and our great Vermont roads truely did need to be replaced as a "front line" ambulance. The truck was in the shop from time to time for repairs and when it was there was no ambulance in town. At trade in we were offered 4,000.00 for the old ambulance. A business decision was made that it was worth much more than that to us as a second ambulance. That second ambulance has been used 30 to 40 times per year since that decision when the first truck is out on another call. That means since we went with two trucks we have taken care of around 200 of you who would have otherwise waited for someone else to come. To me that is worth far more than the little bit of money we would have gotten for that trade in. I mean really how much is a life worth.
I just want to state for the record that these are all my personal thoughts and not necessarily those of Fairfax Rescue. I would encourage anyone who wants to know more about our operations to come by and ask questions. We have nothing to hide. I would also encourage any of you to make a difference and start volunteering some of your time.
6
« on: February 04, 2013, 06:46:53 PM »
Henry the full obituary will be in the Messenger
7
« on: January 29, 2013, 09:36:22 AM »
Pretty much and we have a decent start on it. Thanks to all who are pitching in.
8
« on: January 28, 2013, 05:28:26 PM »
I certainly will not reply on behalf of th fire department but will respond on behalf of rescue. Regarding the temporary location we rented, it was remote in that it was a mile from the fire station. Not a huge distance but certainly not right next door. Small is a relative term. We were barely able to get our small ambulance in without taking the mirrors off and the larger ambulance would not fit insode at all. It was a workable situation, but really not ideal.
The fact that the fire department building is too small for current operations can not be disputed. Both the fire department and the rescue squad are storing one vehicle each outside. The fact is that we are growing as a community. I am not sure how we limit growth. If we can not limit growth we still must supply services.
The reason we decided to keep the old ambulance was that the trade in we were offered for it was $4000.00. After some discussion the rescue squad decided tha it as worth more than that to keep it and we did. The first month we had it as a backup unit, we generated more than double that amount in revenue. Since we have had the second truck in operation we have used it to respond to 30+ calls per year on "unit 2 calls" when the primary truck is on another call. This results in a much shorter response time than if a truck was responding from St Albans, Milton or Cambridge. If you are one of those 30 people a year, I sure you would appreciate the time difference.
Insurance did not double but did go up by about 50% because of the multi vehicle discount. Maintenance cost actually went down, not up because we rotate vehicles to save some on the newer vehicle. Also we still have a vehicle in service when one is being worked on which is something that did not happen in the past. When the ambulance used to be worked on we were out of service, sometimes for days at a time.
The building that we are having built is being provided to us at about half its' appraised value. This is not something that we would likely be able to duplicate, nor would we ever find a better deal. Much of the work done and materials used have been donated by the contractors involved and members of then community.
As to the cost for rescue to the community, just as a comparison Fairfax, Fletcher and Westford are paying $12.00 per person fo EMS services. The Town and City of St Albans, the Town of Bakersfield, the Town of Fairfield, and the Town of Georgia are paying about $19.00 per person. The City of Swanton is paying $28.00 per person, and the Town of Swanton and the Town of Enosburg are paying $29.00 per person. The reason for this is that Fairfax Rescue is primarily staffed by volunteers.
The bottom line is that Fairfax Rescue is not asking the town to pay for the building, just support the service as they have in the past. Rescue is totally responsible for the building, mortgage and maintenance. You will not see a new article at town meeting for the building.
There is not enough time or space to adequately discuss all of this here. Anyone with questions is invited to call rescue at 849-2773. We would be more than happy to discuss this in greater detail.
9
« on: November 15, 2012, 12:54:59 PM »
To try to make this more clear. I did not say there would be no taxpayer money. I did say that the taxpayers would not be responsible. In other words if we fail the taxpayers are not liable for the debt. We looked this over really closely before we started. The building costs are less than 10% of our overall budget and will likely be paid off way before the 20 year mark. And the bottom line was if we didn't build the building we could have very soon found ourselves out on the street. The timing was right and the price would never have been better.
10
« on: November 15, 2012, 11:07:44 AM »
As a member of rescue I just wanted to chime in on this. First for a little history. The Town and the fire department have kindly housed us since the beginning in 1979. Even then it was a strain on the fire department due to the loss of useable space for them. With the building of the new fire station the space problem was solved temporarily. We are at the point now where space is critical. Both fire and rescue have continued to grow over the years. Due to the growth both fire and rescue are storing emergency vehicle outdoors. For those of us who have lived in Vermont a long time, it is easy to figure out that this is not a good situation. If there were an emergency call during the winter it would be at least 15 minutes before these trucks were warmed up enough to get under way. Not a good deal if you are the one waiting for emergency services to arrive at your location. Last year we were able to rent garage space for the second ambulance. It was not an ideal situation. The garage was small and at a remote location, but it was heated and we made due.
This year we were given a rare opportunity. Gabe Handy who has done much development in Fairfax decided that he would like to do something for the Town of Fairfax. He approached the rescue squad with the proposition of a building of their own. The building which has been appraised by the bank at $475,000.00 will be built at a guaranteed price not to exceed $288,000.00. How is this possible you ask? To start with much of the building costs are being donated. Michelle Dufresne a resident of Fairfax and an architect, donated all of the architectural services to the rescue squad. The person we purchased the land from reduced the cost by $20,000.00. A portion of the excavating work being done was donated. A portion of the site engineering work was donated. A portion of the concrete work is being donated. A portion of the materials and carpentry costs are being donated. We hope to continue gathering donations as the project proceeds. To sweeten the deal Gabe Handy has guaranteed that the cost to rescue will not exceed $288,000.00 or he will cover those costs out of pocket. Once the building is completed we will individually recognize all those who donated.
To answer some of the questions posted. The land was purchased by Fairfax Rescue as part of the build loan secured by rescue. The building will belong to and be maintained by Fairfax Rescue which is a private non profit corporation. We have secured a 20 year mortagage to pay for the building. The town of Fairfax will bear no financial responsibility for the building. The building was designed to meet our needs for the next 30 plus years. It was designed with 3 ambulance bays even though we have only two ambulances at this time. It is logical to believe that at some point in the future the town could grow to the point that a third truck could be needed, so we are planning ahead.
As to our financial operation, most of our revenue does come from billing insurance companies for ambulance services, probably as much as 65 to 70%. Most of our costs are fixed and we are not able to reduce them. Payment from the insurance companies has been dwindling over the years so that revenue source is dropping. For a person on Medicaid it actually costs us more money to take the call than what we are reimbursed, as an example. About 15% of our revenue comes from donations and memorial contributions. About 5% comes from our subscription plan. And finally about 10% of our revenue comes from the combined towns of Fairfax, Fletcher and Westford which are our primary coverage towns.
This year our request from our towns will increase. This is in part due to the new building but in larger part due to the fact that we need to purchase some new equipment and upgrade some of our existing equipment. In an effort to keep costs down in the past we have been hesitant to spend this money. We are now in a position where we must spend it in order to maintain a high quality of service.
In the past our requests to the towns has been all over the place ranging from $10,000.00 to $70,000.00 per year. This has been a constant source of complaint for some in the town. This year we are going to move to a per capita system where all of the towns are asked to give a certain number of dollars per resident. We have quite a bit of research on this as it is a very common practice in the area. We have seen per capita rates ranging from $19.00 to $29.00 being paid to ambulance services per person served. We are looking at something on the order of $12.00 per capita which is a good value for the money. Also by using this approach the request to the towns will be pretty stable from year to year without the large fluctuations as in the past.
The greatest thing that could be done to reduce our operating costs is the addition of more volunteer members. Currently our largest expense is paying for per diem staff to cover the holes in our shifts. We currently budget $40,000.00 per year for that expense. We estimate that we could reduce that number by $10,000.00 per year for each 3 new volunteers we add. We are planning a class at the first of the year and would be happy to see you join our ranks.
In closing we can not wait for the new building to be completed. It will give us the space we need to house the ambulances, and allow the fire department to get their trucks back inside. For the rescue volunteers, they will finally have a space where they can sleep in beds when the are on call rather than on couches in an open room. With the more comfortable surroundings we are hoping we can lure more volunteers to join us. As I am not always on the forum, I encourage anyone with any questions about rescue and the new building to contact me at 849-2773. I am here from 8am to 6 pm Monday through Thursday. Mike Spaulding
11
« on: October 25, 2011, 11:01:12 AM »
Happy Birthday old man. You better watch it or you may catch up to me. Hope you had a wonderful day.
12
« on: October 25, 2011, 10:59:10 AM »
One other small added value to keeping the busses, perhaps some have missed. Trussell mentioned the times that an additional bus or two may be needed. One of those time could be in case of a large scale emergency. Fortunately we have not needed to test the theory.....yet. Fairfax is not immune from some of the tragic events that we see around us. If there were an emergency on a large scale in this town, and large numbers of people needed to be moved quickly, the school busses would be one of the greatest resources we have. If they weren't here, they wouldn't be available and the contracted services would go to whoever called them first. Just something to think about.
13
« on: October 25, 2011, 10:46:33 AM »
That is true. The opportunity arose on very short notice. We were hoping to include all three towns as we provide coverage for all three. Our intent is to go as far as the grant will carry us and then plan how to continue with the project. There may be other grant opportunities available form other sources, fundraisers are not out of the question. We are open to suggestions as this project is much needed. I can't express to you how frustrating it is to know that someone is in need of help and you can't find them because properties are not numbered.
14
« on: October 19, 2011, 12:52:48 PM »
To answer two questions that I have seen here. Yes it would be most helpful in the interim if everyone would make sure their home is visibly marked with their street number, preferably near the road. As to the second question, yes it may be possible for people to purchase their own sign if they wanted. It is one of the things under discussion along with other fund raisers, donations, town participation, etc. We have just not made it that far yet. Our ultimate goal would be for everyone to have one.
15
« on: October 18, 2011, 01:41:32 PM »
From rescue here is a bit of information. IBM is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. As part of the celebration they are entertaining community service grants that translate to emergency management, or the delivery of emergency services. Dan Vanslette, the President of Fairfax Rescue, applied for one of these grants. One of the greatest challenges those of us in emergency services encounter on a regular basis is finding the location of the call. The numbering system in town is haphazard in some places and non existant in others. We felt that we could impact emergency response at its most basic level if we addressed the way homes are numbered. Many communities throughout the state utilize a standardized E911 sign system. This consists of a 6" by 18" reflective green sign with reflective white numbering which is placed near the road. This allows responding emergency responders to quickly and easily locate an address in an emergency. While $10,000.00 sounds like a lot, we have found that it will not quite do the whole town. We have about 2500 residences in town and the grant will buy us about 1500 signs. Because of this we are not sure how we will initially implement this but we will do it in such a way as to have the maximum affect. We will also be looking at ways to complete the project in the future with different possible funding sources. We will be seeking the assistance of Students at BFA and possible local boy scouts in the deployment of the signs. While the way we carry out the plan is yet to be determined, what we do know is that the grant money has been awarded to us so you may rest assured the project will move forward. We will keep you apprised as we move forward with this.
Mike Spaulding
Fairfax Rescue
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