Ambulance contract still unsigned

Even though a county-wide ambulance service provider was selected almost a month ago, county officials said the contract between the ambulance service and those operating under the county’s ambulance ordinance has yet to be signed.

At their June 16 meeting, the Franklin County Commission accepted the recommendation of the Franklin County EMS Committee and approved Shoals Ambulance Service to be the sole provider of emergency services for all of Franklin County, with the exception of the Phil Campbell coverage area, which is covered by the Phil Campbell Rescue Squad.

At Monday evening’s Franklin County Commission work session, commission chairman Barry Moore said the issue of the still unsigned contract was addressed but no decision was made concerning the contract.

“We have been told that the representatives for Shoals Ambulance Service have some questions about the language in the original contract that they are still trying to work out,” Moore said.

“They have been working with county EMA director Roy Gober, who is a member of the EMS Committee, and with county attorney Roger Bedford.

“As of Monday night’s work session, they still had not come to a decision and the contract was still not signed. We are hoping to have a decision in the next few days.”

Moore said it was his understanding that representatives for Shoals Ambulance Service had some concerns about the part of the contract that outlined the appeal process if there were any violations that had to be addressed.

“We will just have to see where we stand once our attorney and their representatives address all of the concerns,” Moore said.

According to Moore, Pleasant Bay Ambulance Service, which has operated in the county since 1997, has continued to run emergency calls as needed.

Representatives for Shoals Ambulance Service could not be reached for comment.