VOORHEESVILLE — After some debate, the Voorheesville Area Ambulance Service has agreed to look into charging patients for service.

The village board, like the town of New Scotland board, requested that the ambulance squad consider a revenue recovery system because it might alleviate some of the tax burden on residents, Lawrence Pakenas said, yesterday.

At the ambulance squad’s May 22 meeting, members voted to look into a revenue recovery plan, an investigation that could take six to nine months to complete, he said. At that point, members will vote on whether or not the squad should proceed with charging patients, based on what the committee looking into it recommends, Pakenas said.
Other area ambulance squads that have a revenue-recovery systems charge a flat rate of about $300 or $400 per ride plus $10 to $20 per mile that the ambulance takes the patient, said Pakenas. "We don’t know where we’d put ourselves in that range," he said of how much the Voorheesville squad might charge.
"I know both the village and the town are anxious for us to make a final decision," he said, but the most important thing is the impact it will have on the ambulance squad members and the patients they serve.
"I know it’s a contentious issue. I know it’s an emotionally-charged issue," Mayor Robert Conway said of considering revenue recovery at April’s village board meeting. But, he added, "We have a responsibility to the taxpayers."
"The word is to stay tuned," Pakenas said when asked how likely it is that the squad will vote to go ahead with the revenue recovery plan. "We’re far from having a final decision."

Other business

In other business at its meeting on Tuesday, the board:

— Heard from Clerk Linda Pasquali that the village has a new website, www.villageofvoorheesville.com;

— Heard questions from two residents of the Scotch Pine development about specifics of the agreement between the village and the town of New Scotland regarding water for a development slated to go in at the Colonie Country Club near the decades-old Scotch Pine development.

The village signed a contract agreeing to sell water to the town to be used by the new development this week, Pasquali said. As requested by some Scotch Pine residents, the contract requires a 50-foot buffer zone between the new development and Scotch Pine, Mayor Conway said;

— Heard from Trustee David Cardona that the village’s summer programs in the park are progressing well and the music festival planned for July 14 at the high school is on track;

— Voted unanimously to appoint Trustee John Stevens to the county’s municipal services board. The Albany County Legislature has asked that each municipality send a representative to work on shared services;

— Voted unanimously to approve Mr. Ding-a-Ling’s vendor permit for the summer;

— Heard from Pasquali that 36 village residents brought electronic waste and 37 residents brought hazardous waste to the annual disposal program;

— Heard from Pasquali that the village will take control of the sewer line put in by Eric King on Route 85A;

— Heard from Pasquali that a resident is having trouble with his water meter. The meter was taken from his house and sent out for testing; the results are expected on Wednesday;

— Welcomed a new business to the village. La Pasticceria, located on South Main Street, is selling European pastries, coffee, and sandwiches;

— Heard from Conway that Richard Reilly, who sits on the New Scotland Town Board, will be the attorney to the village’s planning board when Kim Lawrence leaves that post; and

— Discussed the progress of the proposed skateboard park, which has slowed because of financial and legal concerns on the part of the community group that was spearheading the effort, according to Conway and Cardona.