The Newton Board of Aldermen are considering its options for giving Paramedics Plus, which recently purchased LifeCare Ambulance Service, a new home in Newton.
Currently, the city is providing a trailer, but the refurbished trailer purchased a couple of years ago is leaking and causing mold. Representatives said they are no longer using the trailer but are sharing living quarters with the Newton Fire Department until the city can find a permanent option.
One possibility is building an addition to the fire department with a separate entrance and separate living quarters for the ambulance service. The other option is to follow Decatur’s lead and purchase a brand-new trailer that is smaller than the current trailer but features tile flooring and separate bedrooms and bathrooms for both ambulance workers who would be manning the Newton trailer.
Before the city invested money into a new office, the city wanted assurances that the ambulance service would pull its office in Newton. According to Newton County Emergency Management/911 director Brian Taylor, Paramedics Plus’ contract with the county runs for three more years, and the company’s representatives expressed interest in staying in Newton for years to come.
The Newton Board of Aldermen has been working with Richton Tie and Timber to fix a road on its property that was damaged during the construction of the Biewer rail spur project.
The city is planning to split the $9,000 cost with Richton to bring in additional red fill dirt and crushed rock for the roadway to repair the roadway. After this, the city hopes the repairs would be complete so that they can close out the rail spur project completely.
Mayor Murray Weems said he felt the city was obligated to help repair the roadway since they allowed the rail spur to come through their property to the Biewer Sawmill to help spur industrial growth in Newton.
“I feel like we need to do this because they were so cooperative throughout the process,” Weems said.
Once this is completed, the city plans to send a letter to Richton stating that the repairs are completed and that the city will make no additional repairs on their private property.
In other business, the city heard from Chamber Director Emily Pugh about the Blues Marker that will be installed at the historic depot and about the upcoming Veterans Day ceremony planned for Sunday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m.
The ceremony will require that Third Street to North Main Street will be closed on that morning for the ceremony.
The Board also took the following action:
• It opted not to accept uninsured motorist coverage from Mississippi Municipal Service Company.
• Board members heard from a representative from American Tank Maintenance about a proposed service agreement to maintain its city water tanks.
• Aldermen paid Kone, Inc., $1,197 for maintenance coverage.
• The board declared Oct. 15-19 National School Lunch Week.
• Accepted the resignation of Jacqueline Amerson effective Oct. 3 and hired Lekendricks Griffin at $9.30 per hour in the public works department.
