City opens door for Southwest Ambulance

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, Feb. 17, 2000 | 11:12 a.m.

Citing the city's slogan, North Las Vegas City Council members voted unanimously Wednesday to give their residents the choice of ambulance service by accepting Southwest Ambulance's application for a franchise.

The city's slogan, "North Las Vegas, Your Community of Choice," was repeated by numerous council members and residents, who maintained that giving Southwest room to compete with the city's lone ambulance provider -- American Medical Response -- was the best situation for residents.

The whir of sirens on emergency vehicles speeding past City Hall during the evening's thunderstorm set the mood for the decision, which will further Southwest's attempt to compete in the Las Vegas Valley.

"This is about North Las Vegas citizens," Councilman William Robinson said. "We need to do what's best for North Las Vegas."

The council was the third local government involved in an interlocal agreement for emergency services to approve Southwest's request to apply for a franchise. The city of Las Vegas approved the request for nonemergency services only. Clark County, like North Las Vegas, approved the request for open competition.

Part of the motion in North Las Vegas stated that negotiations with Southwest will take place concurrently with AMR, whose contract could expire as early as 2001.

A portion of the agreement centered on interpretations of the franchise agreement. AMR's acting executive Trace Skeen told the council that as he understood it, if AMR failed to meet the needs as mandated by the franchise, the municipalities could then grant an additional franchise.

That has not been the case, he maintained, as AMR has a proven track record. He mentioned that AMR had added ambulances and staff at a greater rate than the population increase.

But Jeff Silver, the city's attorney on the issue, said the city does not need to find the current system inadequate in order to accept Southwest's application. The deciding factor should be whether it is beneficial for the public.

Southwest executive partners John Wilson and Sharon Henry stressed that as the city continues to grow, more ambulances are needed. Calling their competitor's explanations for slow response times as "excuses," the pair continued to stress that the city needs another provider.

Following the 1 1/2 hour debate, Henry said she was exhausted from the yearlong effort to negotiate a franchise.

"I don't think any of us had any idea what we were getting in to," she said. "But we've met every challenge thrown our way, and we're glad the city made that decision."

Silver said it could take four to six months to negotiate the contract.

Henry agreed that the city of Las Vegas' decision to restrict Southwest to nonemergency transports was a "wrinkle" and the company will see if Las Vegas will reconsider its decision now that Clark County and North Las Vegas have banded together.

"We would like to see the interlocal agreement stay together," she said.

Following the decision, Skeen said he was not disappointed, because the council was not just merely granting the franchise, but first proceeding with negotiations.

"My hopes is that this is a group that looks at the issues -- who will respond, how much is it going to cost," he said.