The Western Carroll County Ambulance District commission met Tuesday at the Grassy Knob Fire Station with few in attendance but considerable content as two of the five commissioners announced their resignation due to their relocation outside of the district.
Chair Judy Thorpe and Jim Hughes are exiting, which leaves Al Selleck, Connie Deaton and Chryl Holt on the commission.
Four rural community fire departments report to this commission and receive funding for supplies such as medical and first responder equipment, so a gap in meetings could affect financial support of their operations. Understanding the importance of a fully staffed commission, Eureka Springs Fire Chief Nick Samac said he would work on cultivating new volunteers to fill the positions ASAP.
Samac also provided the October/November 2019 report for service calls. Overall in the two months there were 116 calls for rural emergency services; 73 in Holiday Island, 23 in Eureka Springs Rural, 14 in Inspiration Point, and five in Grassy Knob.
Samac said that all the calls were responded to in compliance with EMS standards, with total services billed for the two-month period at $46,401, and total collected $33,550.
He also said that the Annual EMS Conference is scheduled for March 5 -8 in Eureka Springs where they expect about 250 participants.
Treasurer Selleck provided the 2020 budget of $322,000 and stated the 2019 budget came in $27,000 under with an ending cash balance of $411,000.
The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m at the Eureka Springs Fire Department.