July 24, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Mahwah New organization providing ambulance service by Frank J. McMahon A newly-formed volunteer organiza- tion has begun to provide round the clock ambulance service to the entire Township of Mahwah. Mayor William Laforet recently autho- rized Mahwah Emergency Medical Ser- vices, Inc., informally known as MEMS, to provide ambulance services for the town- ship. On July 12, all calls for ambulance service were sent to MEMS. Mahwah Ambulance & Rescue Squad Company 1 on Franklin Turnpike and the Mahwah Ambulance Corps Company 4 in the Fardale section of the township will remain in existence, but not operational. Robert Klingen, the president of Com- pany 4 and now president of MEMS, told the township council at a public meeting on July 11 that about 21 charter members of MEMS have been meeting weekly, some- times twice a week, to develop bylaws for the new organization and that the sole pur- pose of the single volunteer organization is to provide emergency service to Mahwah and those passing through the township. “I commend these volunteers for what they have done,” Laforet said. “It has one core component to it and that is they are interested in saving lives. That’s the only thing that concerns them.” Klingen and Gregory Antonetti, first lieutenant of Company 1 and now deputy chief of MEMS, provided information about the new organization to the township coun- cil in front more than 50 of the 65 members of the new organization who attended the meeting to show their support. Antonetti explained that Mahwah is the only municipality in the state that has two separate ambulance squads. He pointed out that other large towns in the state have one ambulance squad using multiple buildings at different locations. Klingen explained further that all of the members of the new ambulance service are presently members of Company 1 and Company 4, the two separate ambulance service organizations that had been operat- ing in the township. “In the past, there were two autonomous groups doing the same thing on opposite sides of town with separate governing documents, officers, finances, and fund- raising efforts,” Klingen explained. “Going forward, MEMS will use and maintain one set of guidelines and procedures, one set of officers, and most importantly, a cohesive group of volunteers who are committed to provide the highest level of emergency medical services, regardless of which side of town needs its service.” According to Klingen, Company 1 was formed in 1947 by members of the fire department and Company 4 was formed in 1974 to satisfy the township’s needs as the Fardale section was being developed. He pointed out that Mahwah is a town of 26 square miles with a little more than 25,000 residents and the growth of the township and its needs required them to take a look at how they are doing things and to see how they can improve what they are doing in order to meet those needs while still pro- viding the same or better service at no cost to residents and visitors. Newly-elected MEMS Chief Liz Villano voiced her opinion in a press release, stat- ing, “We are combining all of our resources, including personnel, training programs, vehicle maintenance, and ordering of sup- plies. We will no longer have two separate teams handling the same jobs separately. It’s a more efficient use of resources, and streamlining administrative and opera- tional services will help to lighten the load on our town’s dedicated volunteers without impacting the service provided.” Villano emphasized that the most impor- tant message she wants to deliver is that the members of MEMS wish to continue the core mission of the two organizations by providing services to the residents, busi- nesses, and visitors without ever charging any fees, as so many other towns have been forced to do. “We intend to remain 100 percent vol- unteer and will continue to rely primarily on the generous donations that we receive,” Villano stated. During a lengthy discussion with the council, it was revealed that the ambulance vehicles and the ambulance squad buildings are owned by the township, which has given the two emergency service organizations the right to use them while providing about $33,000 in budget appropriations for their operation. It also became apparent that there is a long-standing disagreement between the two ambulance companies, and that 100 percent of the members of Company 4 sup- port the new organization and have pledged to transfer their funds to MEMS, but only 80 percent of the Company 1 members sup- port the new organization and the transfer of its funds is currently unclear. Councilman John Roth revealed that Company 1 has a significant trust fund of over $400,000, but Klingen emphasized that the new organization is not looking to “grab” that money, and the voting members of Company 1 will have to decide what to do with it. He emphasized, however, that membership in the new organization is open to all the members of Company 1 and he hopes they decide to transfer those funds to the new organization. Michelle O’Toole, the president, secre- tary, and treasurer of Company 1 told the council that she was not informed of the formation of the new organization until the day before the council meeting and she (continued on page 14)