Feature Article March 4, 2004
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Cost of Ambulance bases questioned
The ongoing unease between the City of Kingston and Frontenac County over ambulance services has found its way to the Parham Ambulance base.
Last week, in an article in the Whig Standard, questions were raised about the rent being paid by the County of Frontenac for the Parham Ambulance base.
Kingston Mayor Harvey Rosen wondered aloud if the $10 per square foot being paid was reasonable in the context of an identical $10 per square foot being paid to Hotel Dieu hospital for bases in the City.
Contacted this week, Mayor Rosen said I didnt say it was necessarily a bad deal, I was just questioning the payments. I asked why it is that the same rent is paid in Parham as in Kingston, where real estate prices are generally much higher. It may indeed be a good deal, I just dont know.
The Parham Ambulance base is owned by Dave Gemmill. He purchased the building, along with the license for the Parham Ambulance, which then operated under the direct supervision of the provincial government, from Dave Hansen in 1994. Dave Hansen wanted to retire, and I had already been working for the ambulance service for 14 years. I bought it from him for $120,000, Gemmill recalled when interviewed this week, adding, From that point on, the province rented it from me for $10 a square foot.
The ambulance service was run as a not-for-profit corporation from until January 1 of this year, and Gemmill has personally owned the building.
On January 1 of this year, management of the service was taken over by the County of Frontenac. At that time, Dave Gemmill became an employee of the County of Frontenac, working as a supervisor/paramedic, with responsibility for the Parham base, and it was the fact that an employee of the County is renting space to the County that made headlines in the Whig Standard last week.
Dave Gemmill said the present five-year lease agreement that he has with the County of Frontenac is identical to the agreement that was in place when the provincial government administered the ambulance system. The County pays ongoing costs, such as heat and utilities, and Dave Gemmill pays for all capital improvements to the building. In 1994, I invested $88,000 in upgrades to the building, and this past fall, I bought six more acres, added two extra bays and added storage, at a cost of $118,000. This spring, I will have to pave the driveway as well, Dave Gemmill said.
Gemmill adds that because the Hotel Dieu hospital is a public institution, the ambulance bases they own were built by the provincial government and given to them, so the $10 a square foot they receive is money they can keep for the hospital budget. In my case, I will receive $28,000 this year in rent, but $24,000 will go to mortgage costs for the building renovations and the other $4,000 will cover the municipal taxes. I have a 15-year mortgage on the building.
Gemmill also pointed out that he invested in a forced air oil furnace for the base in 1999 to replace an electrical heating system. Electricity prices had risen so I decided to invest in the new system. The capital costs were mine, but the savings, which amount to about $1,000 a year because oil is that much cheaper than electric, go to the County now.
As a supervisor/paramedic, Dave Gemmill is paid a wage of $32.63 per hour. The top end of the pay scale for paramedics who work under him is about $7 an hour less.
Rosen waiting to hear about ambulance costsKingston Mayor Harvey Rosen has concerns with the fact that the City of Kingston pays for about 85% of the costs of the ambulance system for Kingston and Frontenac County, but has no direct say in how the money is spent.
We can suggest, we can cajole, but even though the city pays for the majority of the costs, we dont have any ultimate control over how money is spent on the ambulance system.
So far he has questioned the cost of the new Automated Vehicle Locating System, which cost the ambulance service $13,000 and will cost $10,000 annually to maintain, and has expressed a concern about the $10 per square foot paid for the Parham ambulance base. He said he realized these are small items in the overall ambulance budget, but said a lot of little expenses make up to a big expense.
He did not, however, express concerns about the Countys management in general, saying Im going to accept things as the County gives them to me. Although they are little slower than Im used to in providing information, I wouldnt suggest there has been any deliberate withholding of information.
As far as ambulance service, Rosen said he is waiting to see the draft budget for ambulance service for the coming year before he comments further.
There may not be a problem with the cost of ambulance service. I wont know until I have an official draft budget in front of me, he said.
