Board won't recognize EMS council

SANDPOINT — County commissioners are declining to recognize the recently revived Bonner County EMS Advisory Council, but remain open to input on the future of emergency medical service operations.

The board issued a press release Wednesday saying it did not sanction a Feb. 13 meeting in which the EMS Advisory Council was brought back to life after 33 months of inactivity.

“Over the last 14 years, the nature of this council has become one of dysfunctionality and the meetings were finally taken to an ‘as-needed’ or to an annual status in 2016,” Jessi Webster, the board’s deputy clerk and office manager, said in the news release.

The advisory council took it upon itself to reconstitute after it became public that the county commission was considering turning over the EMS contract to an outside agency. The council’s mission is to advise the commission on EMS matters.

“The Board of County Commissioners did not sanction this meeting, nor is it the desire of the current BOCC to revive this council as currently operated,” Webster said.

Commissioners contend they will continue to gather input on the future of county EMS operations and intends to solicit a Request For Qualifications from interested entities. However, advertisement and deadline dates for the RFQs are pending.

Webster said the board’s decision regarding EMS in Bonner County is of the utmost importance and recognizes that it affects all Bonner County residents.

“This is not a decision to be made hastily or without research,” Webster said.

The board encourages the public to contact its office if they have questions or concerns regard the advisory council or EMS services. Commissioners can be reached at 208-265-1438.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.