Alna voters next month will consider hiring Central Lincoln County (CLC) Ambulance Service, but selectmen so far had no offer to pass along from the town’s longtime provider, Wiscasset Ambulance Service.

Town meeting is March 18 for elections and March 19 for the open meeting. Town Clerk Amy Warner said she needs the warrant for posting a week ahead. If they get a Wiscasset offer in time, they will put it on the warrant along with CLC’s, selectmen said Feb. 24.

“All we need is a number,” First Selectman David Abbott said.

About an hour and a half before the meeting, the town got an email from Wiscasset Town Manager Marian Anderson asking for a copy of the letter that she’d heard had been sent to Wiscasset.

She had not seen it, Anderson writes. “We have chatted in the past regarding our continued commitment to provide EMS service to the Town of Alna. The Town of Wiscasset values our relationship with the Town of Alna,” the email continues. Anderson then offers to meet with the board at its convenience.

Warner said she forwarded Anderson the letter after receiving the email. The Feb. 3 letter asks Anderson what amount she requests the town contribute this year for ambulance service.

The board started talking months ago about their concerns over Wiscasset’s reliability for ambulance service. Anderson said then that the service’s challenges were being addressed, but Alna selectmen continued exploring options and have gotten the Damariscotta-based service’s one-year, $4,000 offer.

CLC will not charge Alna for its residents’ bad debts, selectmen said. Wiscasset is going to start charging towns for those, because Wiscasset doesn’t have the authority to shoulder the debts and can’t afford to, Anderson has said.

Attempts Feb. 25 to reach her for comment were not immediately successful.

Selectmen talked about possibly inviting the ambulance services to next month’s town meeting. “Obviously this is going to be something people are going to be concerned about,” Third Selectman Doug Baston said.

Alna loses code officer

Alna Code Enforcement Officer Stan Waltz has resigned effective March 7, in a Feb. 22 letter the selectmen accepted Feb. 24. The letter cites health reasons.

Reached Feb. 25, Waltz said he is also leaving as Bristol’s CEO but will continue on as Wiscasset’s, Damariscotta’s and Nobleboro’s.

“I’m lightening my load,” Waltz said.

Emergency money

The board also talked about proposing that residents start a contingency account the board could tap if needed. The point would be to avoid the delay of having to call a special town meeting, Baston said.

“An unforeseen event could be a budget buster,” he said. Board members said this might be a good time to start the new account, in light of the property tax rate’s fall last year due to higher valuations for Central Maine Power property.

The board did not set an amount to request at town meeting for contingency.

Selectmen meet next at the town office at 6 p.m. March 9.