The Suffolk County Regional Emergency Services Council voted on March 12 to expand the operating territory of the East Hampton Village Ambulance Department to include the Northwest Fire Protection District and the East Hampton Water Supply Area. This came after a contentious public hearing at LTV Studios on Feb. 16.
"It's good news, but this was more of a maintenance issue," Mayor Jerry Larsen said at the East Hampton Village Board meeting on Friday, where he announced the vote. "We found out with our new ambulance lawyer that, technically, we're supposed to have this 'certificate of need' to operate outside the municipality, even though we have a contract with the town, and have since the 1970s." Brad Pinsky of Pinsky Law Group has been advising the village on ambulance matters.
Edward Boyd, the hearing officer for REMSCO, clarified in a phone call this week, "The application was for an expansion of operating territory. It was a very straightforward sort of thing from my standpoint. The certificate of need is a whole different animal."
The vote was not unanimous. Phillip Cammann, who serves on the board of REMSCO and represents the East End Ambulance Coalition, abstained. Mr. Boyd said members do not have to provide reasons to abstain. "That is something that is up to the individual. I don't have any idea why it was done in this case." Mr. Cammann did not respond for comment.