Fiscal court gets update on EMS financial support, renews appointments

Judge-Executive Dean Watts gestures during Tuesday’s Nelson Fiscal Court meeting.

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, 11 a.m. — Nelson County EMS ended 2016 with more than 7,126 calls for service — 800 more calls that the service received in 2015, according to a report by Director Joe Prewitt at Tuesday’s Nelson Fiscal Court meeting.

At a request by Magistrate Jeff Lear, Prewitt presented the court with an analysis of how much tax money the county pays to support the ambulance service.

In his report, Prewitt noted that since 2010, the calls for service have risen from about 5200 calls to the last year’s total. In 2010, the county paid $42.42 per run to support EMS, Prewitt said. For 2016, the total was $52.09 per run.

Prewitt also reported on an ambulance that had been damaged in a fire. The county was able to have the ambulance repaired with insurance proceeds, and it will be back in service soon.

Tuesday’s court meeting — the first for 2017 — featured a agenda of mostly routine business.

In other business, the court:

— heard a request from county road engineer Brad Spalding asking the magistrates to determine the main paving projects they anticipate this year. Spalding said any advance notice he could get of the magistrates’ intentions would give him an opportunity to check the road’s existing drainage.

— reappointed Robert Greenwell to the North Nelson Water District board.

— reappointed Joe Prewitt as the county’s emergency management director.

— discussed former road engineer Jim Lemieux’s continued participation on the Lincoln Trail Health Department board. Watts said Lemieux will continue to serve on the board.

— heard a report from Watts that Nelson Fiscal Court will hold a special hearing Thursday at the Nelson County Justice Center in regard to Deputy Brandon Bryan.

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