By GARRET JAROS/Lincoln Chronicle
YACHATS – The Yachats Rural Fire Protection District board will hold off seeking legal advice regarding its ambulance options in south Lincoln County until after it meets Friday with representatives from the group it asked to conduct a feasibility study.
The board asked the Special Districts Association of Oregon to advise it on whether operating an ambulance service is financially and staffing viable for the district and whether it should include transporting patients to hospitals in Newport or Florence.
South Lincoln Ambulance, the nonprofit which has provided the service for decades, has offered to donate its new $420,000 ambulance and its equipment to the fire district if the district takes over the service.
Other options being considered by the board are consolidating with the nonprofit ambulance service under a modified agreement, continuing with the longstanding relationship as is – with Yachats Fire continuing to provide staff for the ambulance for a nominal fee — or dropping that agreement and leaving it to South Lincoln to staff the ambulance itself.
The last option would leave South Lincoln in a financial bind that would most likely lead to the demise of the service, said SLA board member Frankie Petrick, who also serves as the YRFPD volunteer chief and the district’s administrator.
On Friday, two members from the special districts organization will interview Petrick, board members, and possibly two firefighters to hear concerns about finances, staffing and risk-benefit before providing its findings at an yet undetermined date.
Board member Doug Myers wrote a draft for fire district and SLA board members to review that highlighted general issues to consider along with timelines related to the various options. He also asked about first sending the draft to its attorneys to find out what is possible.
The district is consulting with the Eugene-based Local Government Law Group as well as the special districts organization.
Myers said he was not aware of any other agreements around the state or beyond between a nonprofit working with a fire department. Petrick said she was informed last week of several, including in Summer Lake, which is part of the Lake County Fire Protection District in southeastern Oregon. She also said the current staffing agreement between the fire district and ambulance nonprofit was written by an attorney.
“I would have to believe that he was mindful of the law and that that could be a legal document between a nonprofit and a government entity,” Petrick said.
Myers said he had reached out for advice from Jefferson County Fire & EMS in Madras, which had done roughly the same thing the Yachats district is considering. It merged a third-party public, tax supported ambulance with Jefferson County Fire. He told the Yachats board that Jefferson staff offered to help them through “the minefield they are still trying to recover from 15 months later.”
The board and Petrick agreed to wait until after the interviews with SDAO on Friday before advancing any possible drafts about future actions to its attorney, who in a previous meeting had advised there are specific procedures for transferring assets to or from a rural fire protection district.
Board member Stan Wagaman advised not starting the clock with attorney fees until after the meeting with SDAO “because their report will make a big difference in what we consider doing.”
The board will also ask SDAO to give a “quick read” of Myers’ draft about possible decisions and timelines to see if it is in line with the general direction it may or may not advise.
During the public comment period preceding the discussion by board members, a self-described “overly taxed resident of the Yachats Fire District” Katrina Wynne, urged board members to no longer support the South Lincoln Ambulance and instead rely on Pacific West Ambulance as the local provider so Yachats firefighters can focus on “their number one job, our safety and timely response to fires.”
She said the ambulance service is a burden on fire district residents because it does not have its own staff and that firefighters can be on call with the ambulance and thus reduce their availability for fire calls as well as increase response time. And she noted the fatal ambulances collision with another vehicle in January 2024 that left taxpayers “saddled with the legal bills due to the illegal overlap between these two entities.”
- Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues for the Lincoln Chronicle, formerly YachatsNews, and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
Comment Policy