The Kimball County Ambulance contract has been extended until October 31, 2011. This, the fifth extension in some two years, came at the regular Kimball County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, July 5.

The previous meeting brought only a 30-day extension, which had irritated Jim O’Brien, Kimball Ambulance Service contractor--in part because of the difficult liability process. Pushing the contract through the end of October hardly soothed his concerns.

Attorney Robert Brenner approached O’Brien about insurance coverage, specifically if the service was currently covered by liability and workman’s compensation coverage.

“Do you have insurance now?” Brenner asked.

“We do for five months,” O’Brien replied.

The point of frustration for O’Brien is that the county has been extending a contract they don’t like for two years without a clear decision.

“My insurance agent said it would be next to impossible for the county to get all the ducks in a row in less than a year,” he continued.

A further extension was then brought up in increments of 30 days with Commissioner Larry Engstrom suggesting the extension lasts to the end of the calendar year and Chariman Dave Bashaw countering with ninety days.

“The ongoing running of this business is not done in 30 days. When I say a year...to try to run this operation in short periods of time...”O’Brien said, “You’ve had two years. Use the time period between now and July 2012 to get this done the right way.”

After more discussion, Brenner told the board that 30 days would not be enough time for everything to be taken into account considering commissioner Larry Brower was absent from the meeting.

“I do not see how, in a reasonable manner, you can get it done by the end of the month,” Brenner said. He suggested the board continue the contract until the end of O’Brien’s insurance coverage, through October 31.

O’Brien went on to explain that after a grace period granted to him by the insurance company due to the unsure nature of the contract, the service has since gone to greater expense than he is sure will be needed, or used.

The total cost of insurance for the five months is $8000, and with just the one month extension hanging over him, O’Brien expressed concern.

Brenner asked O’Brien to supply county Clerk Cathy Sibal with proof of insurance as well as training paperwork and other accountings.

Speaking up for the public, Kimball resident Jerry Williams praised the ambulance service in Kimball.

“From my standpoint, we have exceptional ambulance service. We need to get longer extensions than three months, 60 days, or 30 days,” Williams said.

O’Brien asked the board if they were going to give him the opportunity to accept, or deny, the contract extension this time around. He did accept, but reiterated the difficulty of going through these negotiations so often.

For now, the ambulance contract has been extended until October 31, 2011.