Carson City Board of Supervisors widen ambulance service program

Carson City’s Board of Supervisors widened an ambulance service subscription program, took stances on legislation, decided on advisory panels’ roles and heard health reports on Thursday.

Donning three hats, the board acted in its usual governing capacity, as well as met for a time as Redevelopment Authority and in an expanded form — with the city health officer, Dr. Susan Pintar, and Sheriff Ken Furlong — as the community’s Board of Health.

Acting as city governing board, the mayor and supervisors approved an interlocal agreement to widen the scope of pre-paid subscription ambulance service programs for participating city and area residents. Fire Chief Bob Schreihans told the board it was a first, as far as he could determine.

“Have we done this before,” Mayor Robert Crowell asked.

“I don’t think so,” the chief replied. He said he had gone through records to check, and then he explained benefits of the pact the board was considering.

“It’s actually better for the community and for the jurisdictions that we serve,” Schreihans said. The pact will include ambulance service subscription programs for those in the Carson City Cares (CC-Cares+) program, as well as similar ones in fire protection districts designated as Central Lyons County FPD, East Fork FPD, North Lyon County FPD, Storey County FPD and Tahoe Douglas FPD.

The chief said city participants pay $50 annually per person, $75 per family, and costs in the other jurisdictions are similar, though he didn’t have each to pinpoint the amounts. He said it’s a fine option as ambulance service can wind up costing $1,200 otherwise. The pact will mean citizens enrolled in one jurisdiction receive similar benefits of all the participating agencies’ ambulance subscription programs.

“It doesn’t apply to indigent care,” the chief said. He said the subscription program here currently serves 1,575 Carson City residents, plus about 500 city employees, and now can be widened, which should lower the cost of advertising it in the region.

“It’s an awesome system,” Schreihans said.

The board voted to support Assembly Bill 15, state legislation to upgrade the Stewart Indian School at the city’s south edge, and to oppose both Senate Bill 368 and AB458, both the latter bills requiring ward voting in communities. City Manager Nick Marano said AB15 would help with a blighted area at the former Indian school near a proposed Schulz Ranch subdivision.

The mayor, meanwhile, decried having to deal with another ward voting attempt.

“This is the second time that somebody has tried to stuff this down our throats,” Crowell said.

Marano said on April 16 he will ask the board what stand members want to take on SB482, a bill to raise elected officials’ salaries in various jurisdictions, including Carson City. The measure would raise pay 3 percent.

In other board action, the mayor and supervisors held a public hearing on $18 million in bonded indebtedness that will be issued soon for water, sewer and sewer treatment upgrades. A staff presentation preceded the hearing. The hearing attracted no public testimony.

On April 16, the board takes up $6 million of the bonding to authorize issuance; the rest will follow at subsequent meetings later this spring.

Acting as Redevelopment Authority, the mayor and supervisors voted to have the Cultural Commission join in advising the authority on how to spend small amounts of funding available each year for special events in redevelopment districts. The Redevelopment Citizens Committee (RACC) previously provided all the advice. But now decisions will be split with 60 percent handled by RACC and 40 percent by the commission.

Community Development Director Lee Plemel said about $65,000 may be involved in the special events funding area. In general redevelopment spending policy, he also obtained a reading from authority members for overall policy direction. Members talked of possible infrastructure, building facade upgrades and related matters along with arts and culture or other special events.

Dr. Pintar during the health board part of the meeting day said in her report she and Supervisor Karen Abowd have been working to return sexual assault victims’ tests to Carson City. Currently and for some time, such victims have had to be transported north to Reno/Sparks. Abowd later said the hope is to restore such tests here by mid-year or soon after.