The Falkville Town Council adopted an ordinance to take part in a joint agreement with the Morgan County Emergency Management Communications District to bid for a county-wide ambulance service.

All of the towns and cities in Morgan County (excluding Decatur and Trinity) have been invited to be a part of a joint agreement with Morgan County 911 to find one ambulance service to operate in the county. Morgan County 911 and a review committee board made up of a representative from each town or city will award the bid.

Councilman David Carroll has been getting as much information about the agreement as he could during the week prior to find out if it was in Falkville’s best interest to join.

“From what I can find out, Morgan County 911 will not have the final say in which ambulance service is chosen,” Carroll said. “The review board and Morgan County 911 will work together to make the decision. Adopting the ordinance to take part in the agreement only means we will look. If we don’t like the direction it takes, we can still back out and do what’s best for us.”

Carroll said there would be certain qualifications for the ambulance services to meet.

“The ambulance service will have to be able to guarantee a response time of 20 minutes or less,” Carroll said. “They will also have to show proof of proper life-saving techniques and transportation. Samaritan, who we currently have a contract with, has a response time of 13-14 minutes. We will make sure that our specific needs are met before determining which ambulance service we will use.”

The council agreed they would require certain needs be met before agreeing to the decision.

“We are particularly conscious of our two nursing homes, and we need to make sure we will have enough coverage to take care of their needs in addition to all of our other residents,” Carroll said.

Morgan County Commissioner Don Stisher said the joint agreement had both benefits and deterrents.

“It could be hard to make sure that each town has its specific needs met,” Stisher said. “but hopefully the service they choose can strategically station themselves to help everyone the best. If the right ambulance service can make it work, this will be  very beneficial for the county.”

In other business, the council moved to adopt an ordinance that defined grinder pumps as materials and the consumer’s responsibility associated with their maintenance. They authorized the appointment of Danielle Mitchell, Zach Ferrell and Jay Reid to the park and recreation board. They also authorized a previously discussed bad check policy that restricts any utility payees from paying with a check if they have two bad checks on their account.