TOWER— City council members here expressed considerable skepticism over a proposed pilot project that would utilize so-called “sprint medics” to respond quickly to medical emergencies in rural parts of St. Louis County.
The pilot is being funded by a $3 million state allocation approved earlier this year for St. Louis County and it is designed to equip and staff rapid response vehicles, such as vans or SUVs, designed to provide prompt advanced life support, or ALS, care to patients who call 911. Currently, many part of northern St. Louis County are served by ambulances that don’t provide ALS, although they frequently call out larger services that do offer ALS when the need arises.
In theory, the sprint medics would be able to reach patients requiring a higher level of care minutes faster than is currently possible, but there was concern by council members that the price tag was more than they expected. According to the billing agreement submitted to the city as part of the pilot, the city’s ambulance service would pay $200 each time one of the sprint paramedics responds to a medical incident within their service territory. “I thought that’s what the $3 million was for,” said council member Bob Anderson. The $200 is less than the service currently pays for ALS service when it requests it from Virginia or Ely, but council members worried that the paramedics would likely respond to many if not most ambulance calls in the area where they’re working. As it is, fewer than one-in-ten calls in the area typically require advanced life support.
Council member Kevin Norby said he worries that the paramedics, who are supposed to be roving the area during their 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday-Friday on-call hours, will be eager for action and will naturally respond to calls in their vicinity. “It’s likely we’ll see more paramedic responses,” said Norby. “It’s a lot of expense to us and a lot of risk.”
Anderson agreed and asked what the program would cost after the grant funds run out and whether the city could afford it in the longer term.
Council member Joe Morin said he expected the sprint medic teams would want to maximize their activity in order to show both the need and financial viability and he said he wanted more time to study the program’s outline, which the council received in their packet.
Council members also questioned why those currently trying to organize the pilot program had yet to schedule a presentation to the council, which would ultimately have to approve the plan. Ambulance director Dena Suihkonen said she’s had four meetings with the organizers and Norby said he’d been involved in two of the meetings, but they’ve yet to make a formal presentation or a request to the full city council.
Clerk-treasurer Michael Schultz expressed concern about the impact the program could have on staff morale in the ambulance service, particularly if the paramedics begin to dominate patient care. “Could our own staff lose interest?” he asked.
Norby suggested that the sprint medics could be based in Greenwood, but if so he questioned whether Greenwood should help pay the cost.
In the end, the council took no action on the request from organizers of the pilot project.
In other ambulance-related news, the council made no decision on the future of the city’s oldest ambulance. City officials have been considering converting the 11-year-old rig into a transfer vehicle that would allow the ambulance service to increase its number of inter-hospital transfers without adding additional miles to the two newer ambulances.
Council members agreed they still had too many questions about needed repairs to the older ambulance and other equipment costs they might need to incur to get the rig ready for use in transfers.
In related news, the council voted unanimously to name Shawn Gawboy as the city’s new assistant ambulance director, for 16 hours a week. Gawboy will be on-call with the ambulance service during her working hours. Suihkonen said Gawboy, currently an emergency medical responder, is now working to achieve her licensure as an emergency medical technician, or EMT.
In other business, the council:
• Gave the first reading to a new ordinance governing short-term rentals. An accompanying schedule would limit the number of short-term rental units in residential portions of the city to two on Lake Avenue Dr., two in Northstar Addition, and two within the city’s R-3 zone, which is the central residential district in the city. The schedule calls for an unlimited number of short-term rentals within the central commercial district and four within the Tower Harbor North district, although that number is likely to be amended to unlimited before the second and final reading.
• Approved the low bid of $608,797 from Mesabi Bituminous for a community infrastructure project that will involve some sewer line replacement and new pavement on portions of S. Second and Third streets, along with stormwater and parking lot improvements around the train depot.
• Reviewed a water quality report from the Tower-Breitung Waste Water Board that revealed one recently-tested location had exceeded the allowable limit for copper. TBWWB operations manager Matt Tuchel said the wastewater board had provided the required notice to customers and had fielded a few questions about the violation. Tuchel noted that the TBWWB is still having to draw its water from its backup well and that the water quality isn’t as high as from the primary well, which should be back on line later this month. Even so, Tuchel said the well water isn’t the source of the higher copper levels. He speculated that a change in the pH of the water may be leaching copper from newer copper water lines that may have been installed at the location experiencing the exceedance. The location of the exceedance is not considered public information.
• Set a preliminary budget meeting for 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4. The council will need to approve its final 2025 budget and levy next month.
• Approved a motion to continue moving forward on the plan to complete the loop bike trail that connects the Hoodoo Point and McKinley Park campgrounds to Tower and Soudan and to authorize up to $1,500 in additional allocation for grant writing.
• Approved a motion to make adjustments to the electrical service at the Tower Airport to allow for upgrading the airport’s well pump to 220-volt. The new service will also be in a new location to allow for more reliable access by city staff. Currently, the electrical service panel for the pump is located inside a private hangar.
• Approved a request from the Tower-Soudan Elementary School for the installation of a storage shed and porta-potty on the former football field for use in student activities on the field. The school district had transferred the property to the city when the former high school was closed.
• Discussed but made no final decision on how to manage the pilings along the East Two River channel. Council members were concerned that too many of the pilings were being removed. The council discussed whether they have legal authority to prevent removal of the pilings and asked Schultz to consult with city attorney Mitch Brunfelt to develop possible recommendations.
• Approved the purchase agreement with St. Louis County for the acquisition of the public works garage on Marina Drive.
• Heard that the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board approved the $3 million in bonding for the city’s water infrastructure improvements.