Wiscasset is asking $1,000 less than Central Lincoln County (CLC) Ambulance to respond to Alna’s calls, but the decision may not come down to money, Alna First Selectman David Abbott said.

The bigger concern has been service, particularly whether Wiscasset Ambulance Service, Alna’s longtime provider, will be able to respond quickly enough to someone having a heart attack or some other life-threatening emergency, he said. Selectmen have been voicing that concern for months ahead of town meeting March 19.

Wiscasset Town Manager Marian Anderson has said that the ambulance service’s challenges were being addressed, but Alna selectmen continued exploring options.

As of the board’s Feb. 24 meeting, selectmen had received only CLC Ambulance’s offer to charge Alna $4,000 for a year’s service; they had contacted CLC as they explored alternatives to using Wiscasset. They have not expressed an interest in using both, out of concern it could lead to confusion.

About an hour and a half before the meeting, the town got an email from Anderson seeking a copy of a 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.

Alna Town Clerk Amy 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.

If Wiscasset made an offer in time for it to make the town meeting warrant then voters could also consider it, selectmen said at the time. The next day, Anderson emailed the town a letter making a $3,000 request, the same as last year’s.

The letter makes no reference to Wiscasset’s previously announced plan to start passing other towns’ residents’ bad debts on to those towns.

CLC will not charge Alna for its residents’ bad debts, Alna selectmen said. Anderson said in December that Wiscasset was no longer going to shoulder those, because it doesn’t have the authority to and can’t afford to.

Her new letter to Alna states, “Wiscasset is committed to continuing our partnership to provide ambulance service to Alna residents. We appreciate the support that Alna has provided during our time of leadership transition.

“As you are well aware Wiscasset’s ambulance service has overcome some staffing challenges in recent months. In the very near future we will be introducing the new director (who) plans to meet in person with all of our partnering communities to discuss the future vision of the Wiscasset EMS service that is critical to our communities and the region,” Anderson writes. “At this time our funding request remains at the same level of $3,000.”

The Wiscasset Newspaper’s attempts Feb. 25 and Feb. 26 to reach Anderson were not immediately successful.

Although Wiscasset’s offer came in $1,000 lower than CLC’s, Abbott said Feb. 26 that he still expects the board to support the switch to CLC. The concern about reliability was greater than the concern about money, including any extra money Wiscasset might seek over bad debts, Abbott said in Friday’s phone interview.

Selectmen talked Feb. 24 about possibly inviting both 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.