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Genesee County ambulance task force opens bidding for new countywide service

By Howard B. Owens

Private ambulance companies can begin bidding on a contract to provide Genesee County with ambulance services. The private service will replace the service terminated by a vote of the Batavia City Council and scheduled to end Sept. 1.

Lawn signs protesting the council vote continue to dot the Batavia landscape.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) can be found on the County's Web site. The RFP was developed by the Genesee County Ambulance Task Force.

WBTA interviewed Tim Yaeger is the county’s emergency management coordinator, and head of the task force. Yaeger said the task force will review the proposals and submit recommendations and feedback to the participating government agencies.

Deadline for submissions is April 29.

The RFP is a very thorough document (PDF). It specifies the scope of service, company qualifications, insurance requirements, equipment needs, response times and communication guidelines.

The winning bid will be granted a three-year contract beginning Sept. 1, 2009 and ending Aug. 31, 2012. The contract may be terminated by either party on 120-days written notice.

The selected vendor must submit a surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit in the amount of $500,000 to guarantee performance of work.

The task force also reserves the right to reject all proposals.

Interested companies can ask questions and get more information on April 15, 10 a.m., at the Fire Training Center.

While service must start by Sept. 1, no date has been set for announcement of the awarded contract.

Most of the information contained in proposals received by the task force will be public information, discloseable under the Freedom of Information Law, except information specifically deemed as proprietary, in writing, by the submitting company.

Opponents of the city's decision to terminate its ambulance service set up a Web site to rally community support for its position. At one time, the site contained a (certainly non-scientific) poll to gauge community support for its position. Before the poll was taken down, only about 35 percent of the poll respondents favored the pro-city-ambulance position. The site also contains an online petition, but as of this moment -- several weeks after it was launched -- only 131 people have signed it.

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