New Fire, Ambulance Contract to Save Town and Country Millions

Two, 5-year fire and ambulance service contracts were approved by the Town and Country Board of Aldermen Monday night, but the meeting started off with concern from an alderman about previous comments not being included in board minutes.

Ward 3 Alderman Steve Fons expressed concern over the fact that his comments/questions about a new subdivision, The Estates at Town and Country Crossing, were not reflected in the minutes from the July 11 meeting.

At the last board meeting, Fons expressed numerous concerns about the homes in the plan. 

"I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I don't know anyone who would be interested in a home like this," Fons said. "It looks 'prefab.' "

Fons made a motion Monday night to add his July 11 comments to the public record. The motion passed, and the minutes were amended to reflect Fons comments.

Moving forward with the new neighborhood was before the board for a vote Monday night. However, concerns over the aesthetics of the subdivision postponed the vote.

(Read Story: )

Afterward, two contracts affecting Town and Country's fire and ambulance service were voted on and approved Monday night.

The two bills were added to the agenda when board members returned to open session after a closed session at the July 11 board meeting.

Bill 11-37 would authorize a fire and ambulance service agreement and lease with the West County EMS and Fire Protection District.

Bill 11-38 would authorize an agreement between the City of Town and Country and the Central County Emergency 911 for dispatching services. 

Since Town and Country does not have its own fire and ambulance service, it has contracted those services out to the , formerly the Manchester Fire Protection District, since Dec. 1, 1983. The current contract is set to expire at the end of this year, and the new five-year contract would take effect Jan. 1, 2012.

Town and Country Police Chief and City Administrator John Copeland told Patch the city and the fire district have been negotiating the new contract for almost a year and a half.

"Its been a long journey in negotiating a new five-year contract with the district, but it's been a very rewarding journey," Copeland said. "We've had a lot of demands, and they've worked very hard to address those issues."

Copeland said the biggest challenge was reducing the city's cost for fire and ambulance service without reducing the quality of the service.

He said the new contract saves the city $2.5 million dollars over five years, or $500,000 each year. Copeland told Patch the cost of the new contract is $3,194,117 annually, compared to $3,694,117 at the end of 2010 and 2011.

"This new contract is a monument for the city," added Alderman Fred Meyland-Smith. "It's a product of smart people speaking openly and prudently to each other."

The city also contracts out to Central County Emergency 911 for fire and ambulance dispatching services. Central County 911 dispatches for West County EMS and Fire Protection District.

Copeland said the annual fee for the new five-year dispatching services contract is $224,000, plus a 2-percent annual increase. Previously, the annual increase was based on city property values. Copeland said it's more cost effective for the city to have the annual adjustment set at two percent.

"It eliminates the unpredictability of the property tax assessments we had at one time," Copeland said. "We're now on a fixed fee basis."

He said this is a savings of between $117,000 and $118,00 from the current 2011 dispatching contract. This new contract also takes effect in January 2012.

As part of the savings plan, the city of Town and Country went from being a part owner of Central County 911 to being a contract entity.

Combined, the two new contracts save the city $673,000 annually, copeland said. 

Other Business - Energy Efficient Home Loans

The board voted to participate in St. Louis County's Residential Energy Efficiency Home Loan Program.

The program offers low-interest home loans to homeowners to make energy efficient home improvements.

The City of Manchester recently began participating in the program.

(Read Previous Story: )