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BEAR CREEK TWP. &#8212; Conflicting information about future plans for the Bear Creek Buck Township Ambulance Company led to lengthy discussion and a temporary decision about the company&#8217;s status by the Bear Creek Township Board of Supervisors Monday.About an hour&#8217;s worth of back and forth discussion about who would provide basic life support, or BLS, services to the township resulted in supervisors voting to allow the ambulance company to respond to calls for the next 60 days but with conditions. The ambulance company will have to make arrangements to notify the Luzerne County 911 dispatch service of when it is and is not available for calls, the supervisors specified. This will eliminate an increasing problem of &#8220;no crew&#8221; reports that have resulted when the company has insufficient volunteers available to respond.Supervisor Chairman Gary Zingaretti said the supervisors will request a meeting with all ambulance company personnel within the next two weeks to chart a course forward. The supervisors noted that because Plains Medic 2 or Transmed is available for dispatching for BLS calls and automatically sent for all advanced life support &#8212; or ALS &#8212; calls, the needs of residents will continue to be met in an appropriate and timely manner.The decision was the end result of a debate that began when Zingaretti read an email from representatives of the ambulance company, requesting the township appoint paid ambulance company Transmed as the primary responder for basic life support calls in most areas of the township for 2016. The email was the result of a conversation between board members and some representatives of the ambulance company and indicated the move would allow the company a rebuilding year to recruit and train additional volunteers.The request presented difficulties, however, as it was unclear how often the company would respond to calls. The email said the company would respond along with the designated ambulance company when available, but it was noted there could be liability issues if the company wasn&#8217;t specifically listed as an authorized responder by the township. Board members also questioned whether providing the township&#8217;s share of the worker&#8217;s compensation insurance and leased space to an ambulance company providing such minimal service was in the best interest of taxpayers.Further complicating the matter was the fact that ambulance company representatives who previously met with supervisors did not attend Monday&#8217;s meeting, and a representative who was there said he had a different understanding of what the ambulance company wanted. In the end, the supervisors voted 4-1 to allow the previous agreement, where the Bear Creek Buck Township crew provides BLS services and is backed up by Plains Medic 2, which also provides the township&#8217;s ALS services, as long as the township company explicitly alerts the county 911 as to their availability. Plains Medic 2 was chosen over Transmed because they are already the ALS provider and the backup BLS provider, supervisors said.Supervisor Jeff Popple cast the dissenting vote, proposing instead that Plains Medic 2 be the primary responder for all services for 90 days while the township and ambulance company discussed the company&#8217;s future plans. That motion failed, 4-1. The ambulance representative present at the meeting said if the ambulance company does not respond to calls, it will all but eliminate incoming funds to meet the company&#8217;s approximately $2,500 in monthly expenses and debt service for it vehicle and will severely limit its ability to recruit new volunteers.The supervisors expressed appreciation for the volunteers and acknowledged the difficulty of drawing volunteers to such a difficult and sometimes inconvenient task. An ambulance company representative said the company usually have only five to six active volunteers. Supervisors also discussed financial challenges faced by the company when people pocket the insurance reimbursement for services and transport instead of forwarding it to the ambulance company, resulting in the need to pursue collection action.The supervisors unanimously accepted a second request from the ambulance company and made White Haven Ambulance the primary responder for the White Haven Pocono area of the township. Zingaretti noted he had consulted with the White Haven company and it is willing to take on the additional territory. It will be backed up by Lake Harmony Ambulance.In other business, the supervisors approved a permit for a flashing school zone sign near the new Bear Creek Community Charter School. The solar-powered LED device will be paid for by the Bear Creek Foundation but owned by the township as per PennDOT requirements. It was also noted that while there have been inquiries about a traffic light at the school, the official traffic study done for PennDOT indicated a signal is not warranted.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Janine UngvarskyFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</shirttailMeta></div>

Bear Creek Buck Township Ambulance Company allowed to respond to calls for the next 60 days but with conditions