近距离内射合集

Santa Fe County and Edgewood have reached an agreement that will continue fire and emergency medical services to the town, less than two weeks after Edgewood commissioners announced they would terminate a longstanding contract.

Starting July 1, the Santa Fe County Fire Department (SFCFD) will provide emergency services to Edgewood under a new joint powers agreement that will preserve the original payment structure that caused commissioners to rethink their 20-year partnership.

As part of the agreement, Edgewood will pay monthly $10,000 payments for technical support, donations of surplus fire materials and machinery and capital for continued operations for 18陆 years, totaling about $2.3 million.

Services to the town will continue until then under the previous agreement.

In late March, Edgewood commissioners announced the town would stop receiving EMS and fire services from SFCFD come June 30 following a legal battle over purported delinquent payments that caused commissioners to question if the agreement was fair.

鈥淎ll of this could have been avoided if the county had actually just talked to us to begin with instead of going through it this way,鈥� said Edgewood Commissioner Ken Brennan. 鈥淏ut all of that is water under the bridge now.鈥�

Portions of both governing bodies met Monday evening for a closed meeting to discuss a new arrangement that would clarify language in the contract and settle the dispute.

鈥淚t was devastating to the firefighters in that area when they were told they would be moving and that they would no longer be serving that community,鈥� said Stephanie Stancil, spokesperson for Santa Fe County. 鈥淚鈥檓 really pleased that there鈥檚 been a resolution.鈥�

Though an initial draft has been made, Brennan said he feels that Edgewood was forced into an agreement under pressure to provide services to the town or risk not having emergency coverage.

鈥淚鈥檒l be quite honest, I鈥檓 not totally thrilled with it,鈥� Brennan said. 鈥淲e were pretty much forced to take what the county was putting before us. But the town is in such a position that to not accept it would put the town at risk for not having fire and EMS coverage. We had a gun to our head and we gave up the wallet and now we鈥檙e still alive.鈥�

The new agreement mimics the previous agreement that has been in place since 2005, including the previous 0.25% county fire excise tax and any impact fees collected on development in unincorporated areas of the county, according to a Monday news release.

The new agreement includes an initial $50,000 down payment on services, a five-year notice if either party were to terminate the agreement and a commitment from Santa Fe to give Edgewood the first bid on any fire equipment the county chooses to donate or get rid of.

鈥淣ow we鈥檙e requiring a five-year notice and a large part of that is because of the panic that came out of this most recent termination notice,鈥� Stancil said.

鈥淎dditionally, there is this technical consultation fee so Santa Fe County will continue to provide fire and EMS services, but we鈥檙e also going to work with the town and help them create their own service model,鈥� she added.

Though it may not happen anytime soon, Edgewood is considering creating its own volunteer fire department over the next decade, primarily to cover one portion of town that was previously annexed. 

That segment will be covered by SFCFD, but Edgewood will be expected to bear 100% of the costs associated with emergency services.

鈥淣obody lives up there, but the big fear is a sudden wildfire,鈥� Brennan said. 鈥淏ut we do still need to have some equipment and personnel staffing to go ahead and be able to respond to that.鈥�

Both Santa Fe County and Edgewood will have to vote on the agreement to put it in place and both parties agreed that they would not vote until the agreement had been available for the public to review for one week.

鈥淚 would hope that the message to residents is a positive one and that now they hopefully don鈥檛 have any anxiety or concerns,鈥� Stancil said. 鈥淲e got you. We have a plan. We鈥檙e going to get this ironed out, and folks don鈥檛 need to be alarmed.鈥�

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.