Joint ambulance service for Paupack, Palmyra, Hawley reports revenue shortfall

Pennsylvania (Penn) Ambulance, under contract to provide ambulance services to three neighboring Wayne County municipalities, has experienced a revenue shortfall which the governing authority hopes to address.

Paupack Township, Palmyra Township and Hawley Borough joined forces to address the need for improved ambulance services and formed an incorporated entity, PPH (Paupack Palmyra Hawley) Ambulance. Discussions began in the late 2010s but were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meetings resumed with representatives of the three governing bodies in 2020. They decided how much each municipality was going to be able to contribute to funding the emergency medical services company and by what means. A proposal request went out to various ambulance services that could provide paramedic (Advanced Life Support, or ALS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) services.

Penn Ambulance, based in Lackawanna County, was chosen, and contracted. An ALS/BLS ambulance is based at the Lakeville Fire Station in Paupack Township, and an ALS quick response vehicle or "fast car" is stationed at Hawley Borough Hall. Service officially started July 1, 2023.

Pete Steffen, chairperson of the Palmyra Township supervisors, reported at the Feb. 5 supervisors' meeting that PPH met Jan. 31 and reviewed the first six months since Penn Ambulance started. In that time the company responded to 1,653 calls, only 471 of which were within the three PPH municipalities. Penn Ambulance also was dispatched to Honesdale 89 times, Salem Township, 117; Lake Township, 88; and other Wayne County townships 594 times. Additionally, Penn answered 294 EMS calls in Pike County.

The cost incurred by Penn Ambulance was $381,700. Revenue, however, only totaled $354,000, leaving a shortfall of $27,700. Steffen said that the funds contributed by Paupack and Palmyra townships and Hawley came to $126,000. Other revenue comes from billing insurance companies for EMS services.

PPH is discussing how to raise support from other sources to help fund the shortfall for the ambulance services.

"There is no way they are going to remove themselves from this service, they are going to continue," Steffen said of Penn Ambulance. He said the company has a visible presence in the community and there have been no complaints about the service provided.

Railroad structure

Zoning Officer Paul Natale reported he received a second complaint about the structure put up by Delaware Lackawaxen & Stourbridge (DL&S) Railroad Company on the railroad property along the tracks behind properties on Riverside Drive in White Mills.

DL&S uses the property as a destination for many of its scheduled Stourbridge Line train excursions.

He said he spoke to a DL&S official and was told it is only a temporary pavilion-like structure and that DL&S said it is tied down. A tent is put over it for events. The structure has electrical service. The structure, however, has not been inspected or permitted by the township.

Natale said railroads can do what they want on their properties for rail operations, but in matters concerning public health and safety, the state regulates it, enforced by the township. He asked who would be responsible if there were an incident.

Township Solicitor Jeffrey Treat said that the railroad must have an inspection done by the township, including for any electrical or fire codes. The supervisors agreed to have Treat send a letter to the attorney for DL&S informing them they must comply with state law.

Former ambulance garage

The supervisors approved a set of conditions on the commercial use of the former Lake Region EMS ambulance garage at 15 Old Gravity Road, next door to New Covenant Fellowship Church. The property is in the rural residential zone. Michael Kuzmiak Jr., who bought the property last year, finished the building and is renting it to Woodworks Construction, LLC, a local carpentry business, for storage.

More: Former Lake Region EMS garage would be for carpenter's storage, Palmyra Twp. told

The conditions: No manufacturing or construction is allowed, only storage. No subletting is allowed, and construction material must be stored inside. Hours of the operation are limited to 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday. A portable toilet facility, properly maintained, is allowed on site until a permanent sanitary facility is inside the building. Trailers and trucks which are part of the lessee's business will be required to park on the right side of the building, as seen from the road (the church is on the left side). No business offices will be used at the storage building. Signage will be permitted to be attached to the facade, not exceeding 32 square feet.

Short-term rental ordinance hearing

A conditional use hearing for the short-term rental ordinance is set for 6 p.m. Monday, March 4, at the township offices, 219 Oak St., Marble Hill, with the regular supervisors' meeting immediately following.

Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Paupack, Palmyra, Hawley ambulance service reports shortfall