Tax levy placed on ballot after attempts to create a regional or countywide service failed
     
      BY JOHN A. DARNELL JR.
      associate editor
      Recognizing a need for an emergency medical services, Boardman Township Trustees explained to a half-dozen people who attended their meeting on Monday night, that it was only after they made unsuccessful attempts to merge ambulance services with Canfield, or to get Mahoning County Commissioners to form a countywide ambulance service, that a decision was made to place a 4.5-mil tax levy on the November ballot to provide a full-time ambulance service operated out of the township’s three fire stations.
      The levy, if approved, will generate some $30 million over the course of five years to purchase two ambulances, and equip and provide manpower (paramedics) for the vehicles so Boardman Township can provide full-time EMS services to the public.
      Martin Colyer, of 24 Leighton Ave., who said he is an outreach minister at Faith Fellowship in Youngstown, addressed the Board of Trustees to “express my diligent opposition to new taxes.”
      “We already have a private sector company providing these services,” Colyer said, adding “Once government comes in, they push out all the private sector.”
      Former Mahoning County Sheriff Deputy James Lewandowski, of Buchanan Dr. opined “This levy is doomed to failure.” He asked if there were any figures that showed how many EMS calls in Boardman are provided to “resident and non-residents?” The question went unanswered as Lewandowski said the levy would place a burden on property owners.
      “We need to go to the county commissioners,” Lewandowski said.
      “We tried speaking with the commissioners and Canfield,” Trustee Tom Costello responded, adding “This levy is the third option.”
      Mark Brandenstein, also of Buchanan Dr., said opponents of the levy “were not against” township trustees, but the levy is wrong.
      “You guys never had a complaint since 2012 when Lanes LifeTrans began providing EMS services in Boardman,” Brandenstein said.
      “We have had a number of complaints,” Brad Calhoun, chairman of the Board of Trustees responded, adding there have been incidents of lengthy response times by Lanes, for example “because they had to take a call to take a nursing home outpatient to the doctor.”
      Fire Chief Mark Pitzer said if Lanes has to answer calls in Trumbull County, “our Boardman ambulances get held over.
      “Just last month alone, 50 times, we had response times in excess of 10 minutes, and five times where we had response times in excess of 20 minutes.
      “This doesn’t take into consideration how many times our ambulance responded because they (Lanes LifeTrans) weren’t available.
      “If we don’t have an ambulance available, what’s a life worth?”
      The fire chief also indicated that some funds from the levy would be used to restore manpower in his department; and that recently to properly staff personnel for fire calls, and EMS calls, “we have had to use overtime.”
      Trustee Larry Moliterno said “We weren’t going to wait until there was no ambulance service in Boardman. We went to the county and they wouldn’t do anything. We went to Canfield and tried to make it regional. They wouldn’t do it. We were not going to sit here until that day when ambulance service was not available.”
      Ralph Cook, of 803 Presidential Dr., opined “This levy isn’t just for an ambulance service. This money is for a lot of different things. Can you tell me just how much money you actually need for an ambulance service?”
      “What we’re trying to do…is to staff it so we can go on ambulance calls and on fire calls concurrently, that other communities cannot do, so it’s more expensive to operate.” Moliterno responded, adding “If we are going to do this, we are going to do it right.
      “We have to put a levy on the ballot so we don’t have to go back to the people again for another ten years. Yes, there will be some carryover.”
      Ryan Halquist, president of Local 1176 of the International Association of Fire-Fighters, that represents the Boardman Fire Department, made brief comments.
      “We’re trying to provide a good service. We want to get an ambulance in all three fire stations in Boardman.
      “You don’t know what it is like when you’re performing CPR on someone and your closest ambulance is (in Austintown). It happens, and it has happened lot, and you’re supposed to look at the family and explain what’s going on?
      “I’ll be dammed if I’m going to be here when Lanes shuts down and our guys won’t have an answer for you.”