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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 12-09-2003-8fORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: December 9, 2003 Action Agenda Item No. ~'-~ SUBJECT: Second Reading -Non-Emergency Private Ambulance Franchise Application DEPARTMENT: Emergency Management PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): Articles of Incorporation (NEMTA) Franchise Application Form INFORMATION CONTACT: Nick Waters, ext 3030 TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Durham 688-7331 Mebane 336-227-2031 PURPOSE: To consider for second reading the awarding of anon-exclusive franchise to provide non-emergency ambulance transportation services to NEMTA, Incorporated of Chapel Hill, North Carolina (NEMTA is the incorporated name of Non-Emergency Medical Transit Authority of the Carolinas, a new corporation based in Chapel Hill). BACKGROUND: Under the terms of the County's "Ordinance Regulating Emergency Medical, First Responder, and Rescue Service and Granting of Franchises and Contracts to the Operators in the County of Orange" (hereafter, referred to as the "ambulance franchise ordinance"), persons who wish to engage in the service or business of transporting patients within Orange County must apply to the County for a franchise. The Emergency Management Department received and reviewed an application for a franchise to provide non-emergency basic life support transportation submitted by NEMTA, Incorporated of Chapel Hill. Staff also met with the officers of NEMTA and investigated the information provided in the franchise application. The BOCC considered and unanimously approved the awarding of the franchise to NEMTA at the Board's October 21, 2003 regular meeting. The item is now being brought back to the BOCC for second reading and approval based on statutory requirements. Currently, .Johnston Ambulance and AAA Transport are the only private services franchised to provide non-emergency ambulance transportation within Orange County. Based on information provided by staff and discussion at the April 2, 2002 Commissioners Meeting (when AAA Transport was granted a franchise by the Board of Commissioners), alocal entrepreneur has been pursuing the establishment of anon-emergency transport service based in Orange County. The resulting enterprise, NEMTA of the Carolinas, was granted an ambulance provider license by the state in July 2003. According to the owner of NEMTA, aver the past year, several institutions in Orange County that are frequent users of ambulance transportation services have encouraged him to pursue this enterprise, including a franchise to allow the in-county transportation of patients, NEMTA plans to operate one ambulance that will be available to schedule trips within Orange County. This may benefit the citizens by providing shorter wait times for units The ambulance franchise ordinance stipulates in part that a franchise may be granted if "the proposed service will fit within the existing service so as not to adversely affect the level of service or operations of other franchisees to render service," Staff believes that given the current and forecast demographics of Orange County and the evident increasing number of requests for service received by the County's Emergency Medical Services division, it is reasonable to allow this local entity to operate within Orange County to help meet the needs of the community, Franchising another non-emergency provider benefits the citizen by providing more choice in service providers. As a point of clarification, it should be noted that the County's ambulance franchise ordinance governs only transports that take place between two paints within the geographical boundaries of Orange County. Properly licensed providers may provide transports between a paint in Orange County and a point in another county withotat having that activity subject to Orange County's ordinance, For example, NEMTA is already permitted to pick up a resident from a convalescent facility in Orange County and transport that person to Duke Hospital or Durham Regional, or vice versa, It is staffs understanding that NEMTA has just recently begun to perform such intercounty transports, FINANCIAL IMPACT: The decision to grant a franchise to NEMTA of the Carolinas will not have any financial impact on EMS or the County, RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board, on this second reading, issue a franchise for non-emergency BLS ambulance transportation to NEMTA of the Carolinas of Chapel Hill. NORTH CAROLINA. Department of The Secretary of State To all whom these presents shall come, Greetings: I, ELAINE F. MARSHALL, Secretary of State of the State of Narth Carolina, do hereby certify the following and hereto attached to be a true copy of ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF NEMTA OF THE CAROLINAS, INC. the original of which was filed in this office on the 25th day of March, 2403. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my official seal at the City of Raleigh, this 25th day of March, 2003 Secretary of State Document ld: 230789937 ~ . awrrr. aaanga Date Filed: 3125!2003 10:00: p ~ 8 9 p 3 ~ NEMTA of the Carolinas In Elaine F. Marshall 23 ARTICLES OF TNCORP012ATION North Carolina Secretary of State STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE Pursuant to §55-2-02 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby submit these Articles of Incorporation for the purpose of forming a business wrporation. 1. The name of the corporationa is: NEMTA of the Carolinas, Inc. 2. The number of shares the corporation 1s authorized to Issue ts: 100,000 (One hundred thousand). These shares shall be all of one class, designated as common stock. 3. The street address and county of the initial registered office of the corporation Ls: 210 Old Greensboro Road Chapel Hill, NG 27516 Orange County 4. The mailing address of the initial registered office of the corporation is the same as in fk3 hereinabove. S. The name of the Intttal registered agent is: Sara Machelle Biggers 6. Principal Office Information: 2410 Milliken Road Chapel Hill, NC 27516 The mafling address, ifd~erent from the street address, of the principal oftlce of the corporation -s: NEMTA of the Carolinas, Inc. P.O. Box 1221 Chapel Hill, NC 2T~{ 7. Any other provts[ona,~fch the corporation elect fo Jude, are attached: None ~'~JT'~~ 8. The name and address of each tncorporator is as follows: Sara Machelle Biggers 210 nid Greensboro Road Chapel Hill; NC 27516 9. These Articles wW be e[fective upon filing. Thts the ~~ of March, 2003. "--~ _ ~ f Sara'M ~heIIe 4ggers, SecreW J 1VEMTA of the Carolinas, Inc. ,,~5'~``~ Orange County Emergency Management P. O, Box 8181, Hillsborough, NC 27278 Office (919) 968-2050 Fax (919) 968-4066 APPLICATION FOR FRANCHISE AMBULANCE * EMS * MEDICAL RESPONDER ~` RESCUE 6 Date of Application: 05l ~l ~3 Name of Applicant: ~~{f~~ /ate. Primary Local Business Address:~4(,h t~~ Local Address City /State /'Zip: ~~~ _ U Telephone number at local base of operations: Name of Owner /Contact Person: ~~ Main Office /Owner /Contact Person Address: Main Office City /State /Zip: Telephone number at main of Operating Business !Trade .~~~ ( Please Mark Category of Franchise Applying For: (A separate application must be completed for each general category of service) Ambulance [~ BLS non-emergency [ ]ALS non-emergency Emeraency Medical [ ] BL5 transport [ ]ALS non-transport [ ]ALS transport Medical Resnonder [ ]First Responder [ ]EMT Responder Rescue ] Extrication ] High !Low Angie ] Confined Space ] Trench, Collapse ] Swiftwater ] Underwater Application Attachments Required (See Orange County Franchise Ordinance for Additional Details) t. Cert~ed copy of Articles of Incorporation and / or Charter 2. Applicant's resume of training and experience category of service applying for franchise 3. Financial statement pertaining to [proposed] operations in Orange County 4, Copy of organization by-laws (if applicable) 5. Copy of organization standard operating procedures 6. Current roster of ail members and employees, including Warne, address, and NCDL number. 7. Proposed fee schedule for service in Orange County