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Readfield leaders weigh alternatives as local ambulance partnership falters
Summary
Readfield officials warned that a proposed partnership with Winthrop to station an ambulance locally is "evaporating," and discussed alternatives including regional ambulance partnerships, funding a dedicated unit, or bolstering first-responder capacity.
Town Manager Eric (speaker 1) told the Select Board that recent talks to station an ambulance in town through a partnership with Winthrop have broken down and the town must explore alternatives. "What seemed like a viable option to get the ambulance stationed in town here, is really starting to more or less evaporate," Eric said, and he urged forming an ad hoc committee to pursue other options.
Board members pressed the group to weigh options that could improve response times — including a regional ambulance, a staff ambulance based in Readfield or Mount Vernon, or expanded first-responder programs — while noting trade-offs of cost and local capacity. One member summarized the problem succinctly: the town is "paying the same rate as Winthrop pays on a residential basis, but we're getting a service that's quite a bit less" (Selectboard member, speaker 2). The board agreed to place EMS strategy on a future agenda and to seek community input before making a binding decision.
