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Westport to accept two donated ambulances; town will assume maintenance
Summary
The Board of Selectmen accepted two donated 2025 ambulances from Westport Volunteer EMS and approved decommissioning and transfer of older town vehicles back to WVEMS; donors include the Westport Women's Club and the Walter and Joy Samuels Charitable Fund.
The Westport Board of Selectmen voted Jan. 14 to accept two donated 2025 Freightliner ambulances from Westport Volunteer Emergency Services and to decommission and transfer several older town vehicles back to the volunteer service.
Dave Wolf, appearing as director of Westport EMS, asked the board to accept the donation and said the two new ambulances represent a significant in-kind contribution from volunteers and local donors. "The two new ambulances . . . check in at about probably over $1,000,000 between the two of them," Wolf said, and he asked the town to accept the gifts. Fergal Moore, a WVEMS board member, identified the donors: the Westport Women's Club (including an anonymous club donor) and the Walter and Joy Samuels Charitable Fund, whose trustees include Bob and Francine Richter. "Without those donations, obviously, that's a huge amount of money to come up with for ambulances," Moore said.
Wolf said once the ambulances are transferred to the town, the town will assume maintenance responsibility and that newer vehicles—often under warranty—should reduce maintenance costs for several years. Selectmen and members of the public thanked volunteers and donors for the contribution.
A public commenter urged the town to consider long-term budgeting for ambulances rather than relying on donations. Sal (public) said ARPA funds were discussed previously as a potential source and asked the town to develop a "holistic approach" to budgeting for emergency vehicles.
After brief board discussion, Selectman 2 moved to accept the item as read; the motion was seconded and the board approved the transfer and decommissioning by voice vote.
