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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: <br />November 3, 2004 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. 5- G <br />SUBJECT: Establishment of Public Hea <br />DEPARTMENT: Emergency Management) <br />Attorney <br />for EMS & Rescue Franchise Agreem <br />PUBLIC HEARING: (Y(N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />None Kent McKenzie, ext 3030 <br />Sean Borhanian, 732-2196 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To establish public hearings on granting proposed ambulance franchise <br />agreements to the two active volunteer rescue squads in the county. <br />BACKGROUND: The Orange County EMS, Rescue, and First Responder Franchise <br />Ordinance (reissued April 20, 1993) requires that organizations which provide Emergency <br />Medical Services (EMS) or Rescue services be franchised by the County to engage in those <br />activities, North Carolina law establishes a public hearing notice/scheduling requirement related <br />to the granting of ambulance franchises. NCGS §153A-250(a) states that "before it may adopt <br />an ordinance pursuant to [that] subsection, the board of commissioners must first hold a public <br />hearing on the need for ambulance services," The purpose of the public hearing is to help the <br />BOCC find if the franchise is "necessary to assure the provision of adequate and continuing <br />ambulance service and to preserve, protect, and promote the public health, safety, and <br />welfare." Once the BOCC makes this finding, it can permit the franchise by ordinance. NCGS <br />§153A-46 provides that "no ordinance making a grant, renewal, extension, or amendment of <br />any franchise may be finally adopted until it has been passed at two regular meetings of the <br />board of commissioners" and that "no such grant, renewal, extension, or amendment may be <br />made except by ordinance." <br />Prior to January 2000, there were two separate franchised rescue squads in Orange County: <br />Orange County Rescue Squad in Hillsborough and South Orange Rescue Squad in Carrboro. <br />Each of these agencies was franchised by the Commissioners to provide Emergency Medical <br />and Rescue services, In January 2000, the two squads merged to form one agency, Orange <br />EMS & Rescue Squad, Incorporated, Orange County has continued to contract with this <br />merged agency to continue providing EMS and Rescue Services. <br />In the Spring of 2004, because of internal disagreement among the membership of Orange <br />EMS & Rescue Squad, a mediation process was started that has resulted in the spin-off of a <br />