By David Ball

david.ball@panews.com

A tie was the same as a loss for one agenda item at the regular meeting of the Port Arthur City Council this week.

The resolution was for the approval of an application of Concord EMS for an ambulance agreement. If approved, there would have been two ambulance providers serving the city. Acadian Ambulance has been the sole provider in the city for several years.

However, the vote was deadlocked at four to four. Raymond Scott Jr., District 1, Cal Jones, District 2, Harold Doucet Sr., District 4 and Willie “Bae” Lewis Jr., District 5 voted yes to add Concord. Mayor Derrick Freeman, Thomas Kinlaw III, District 3, Osman Swati, District 6 and Kaprina Frank, At-Large Position 8, voted no. Charlotte Moses, At-Large Position 7, was absent for the vote.

Prior to the vote, Lewis said two services would allow for a better marketplace for consumers.

“It’s always good to have competition,” he said. “We don’t need three services; two helps the consumers.”

Doucet said he doesn’t see why Acadian is worried about another ambulance service in the city.

“It should be competitive. If they fear competition, the question is why,” Doucet said.

However, Acadian is not the only concerned party. In an interoffice memorandum, Larry Richard, Port Arthur fire chief, shared his concerns about Concord.

He wrote that he and Deputy Chief Robert Havens visited the Concord offices in Houston on July 18. He stated the company’s automobile liability insurance is insufficient and there was no proof of medical malpractice insurance provided.

Also, Concord dispatch would have needed to obtain a local telephone number so there would be no cost for Port Arthur residents to contact the dispatch center in Houston.

The Texas Department of State Health Services list two complaints against Concord EMS. However, those complaints are closed and no disciplinary action was taken.

“It does not appear that there is enough revenue (in Mid and South-Jefferson County) to support more than one ambulance services,” Richard wrote. “When these cycles occur, there are disruptions in service when more than one company is permitted to operate. There were times when emergency (911) calls were rolled over in favor of the more profitable transfer calls.”

Richard’s final recommendation was that no additional ambulance companies be permitted to operate in the city of Port Arthur.

The council also approved the Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation providing $35,000 to the small business micro-loan program administered by the PAEDC.

The payment is for the sole purpose of increasing the city’s business micro-loans due to Tropical Storm Harvey.

The micro-loan program is designed to assist small Port Arthur business owners by providing loans to establish or expand businesses in the city and to help ensure success, according to a PAEDC document.