Grand Haven City Council on Dec. 15 authorized staff to enter contract negotiations with Life EMS to become the city’s ambulance provider, following a regional request-for-proposals and unanimous support from area fire chiefs.

Nicole Hudson, the city’s director of public safety, told the council the RFP process generated three responses — Trinity Health, AMR and Life — and that "all the fire chiefs, based on the RFPs, feel that Life's commitment" best met the region’s stated staffing, standby and equipment requirements. Hudson said Life agreed to provide a minimum of two ambulances in the service area and to supply ambulance standbys at fire scenes, and that the company proposed CAD-to-CAD dispatch integration to improve response coordination.

Council members asked staff to pursue standard contract protections: clear service-level metrics, response-time guarantees, escalation and remedy provisions, and term and escalation clauses. Hudson said the negotiating team would review existing successful templates (including a contract used in Kalamazoo) and would seek language tying performance to remedies if standards are not met. She noted Life was proposing a four-year contract with options for extensions and that the company planned a 4–6 month reevaluation window to adjust staffing.

The council voted unanimously to authorize negotiations and return any final contract for council approval. The action was procedural authorization only; no final contract was signed at the meeting.

Next steps: staff will negotiate the detailed service agreement, including measurable response-time metrics and accountability provisions, then present the proposed contract to council for final approval.