Emergency Medical Services Director Mike Durr realized his dream when the Carroll County Council adopted the proposed 2010 budget. Durr’s request to fund staff needed for a third ambulance to better serve county residents was approved with the county’s spending plan for next year.

Four years ago county taxpayers supported four ambulances. After extreme but necessary budget reductions, the department could only afford to staff two of them. It was always a goal of council members to work toward partial reinstatement of the loss for the department and they were able to make that happen for 2010.

“I am happy to have it back,” Durr said Monday.

However, merely having the vehicle with staff ready to roll does not describe the total situation facing the department. There is no actual facility for the additional ambulance.

According to Durr, the EMS committee established to advise and guide department decisions determined the best place to put the third ambulance was in the same garage in Delphi where another ambulance is located. The Flora garage site was closed earlier this year because of severe flooding issues. The ambulance located there was moved to Burlington, where a facility existed and was offered free of charge.

“I did not put any money in the 2010 budget for a facility,” Durr said. “There just wasn’t enough money there for that expense.”

“I couldn’t ask any one community to prepare to house the ambulance before I knew that the funding for the personnel was going to be in place or not,” he added. “Now that the 2010 budget was approved by the council last week, I’m ready to look for a suitable location for it.”

Durr said a grant to plan for a permanent EMS building was approved by the commissioners and will be submitted to the Indiana Office of Rural Affairs by the Kankakee Iroquois Regional Planning Commission (KIRPC). Durr said it would be advantageous to house the third ambulance in a community more centrally located to the middle of the county between Delphi and Burlington while more permanent plans are developed.

Durr said the EMS committee will reconvene in November to discuss location options as they are developed throughout the county. It is expected the committee will meet more than one time to determine the best course of action.

According to Durr committee members include Burlington Township Trustee Al Jackson, EMT Brent Russet, commissioner Loren Hylton, council members Ann Brown and Ron Slavens, and Burrows nurse Nancy Williams.

“The EMS committee has been a great tool for me,” Durr concluded. “We were just holding our breath for a third ambulance. Thankfully, the council gave us the opportunity to move forward with another vehicle and staff to improve our coverage in the county.”