By Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Wellington Fire/EMS Chief Tim Robben answered a few questions and a couple of city councilmen reiterated their support for the Ascension Via Christi Emergency Department at Tuesday’s Wellington City Council meeting.

Tim Robben

Wellington Mayor Joe Soria also apologized for his verbiage at the previous meeting when he got into it with a couple of people in the audience. But he reiterated he was not going to tolerate shouting from the audience.

Overall, the meeting went pretty smoothly, even though many issues plaguing Wellington EMS/Fire are far from being resolved.

Robben answered several questions from three council members during the meeting. He reported:

•The department is reinstating the five-mile living requirement from the station for emergency personnel. Robben said the policy was changed to a 20-mile and 30-mile requirement recently to attract new employees. However, he said he prefers returning to the five-mile requirement because it will help with callbacks.

•Since his tenure in January, 18-19 non-emergency calls through Ascension have not been made because of a staffing shortage.

•On his watch, the department has lost three employees: an EMT, a paramedic, and an administrative assistant.

•Robben is looking at hiring a local part-time employee and hopes to fill two additional positions soon.

•He will not change the two-in-two-in-two-out policy currently in place for non-emergency transports despite rumors of doing so.

•Robben has been in contact with other fire chiefs, hoping to get the required training as a fire chief. He said time constraints have been an issue, including making a budget.

New council member Mary Lucas asked if he will adhere to the employee requirement of living within a five-mile radius since Robben currently lives in Clearwater. Robben said according to the contract he signed with the City of Wellington, he has one year to do so. He hopes to sell his home and find a place to live in Wellington.

She also expressed her displeasure that Robben has not filled in during call back with short staffing issues.

Dr. Tiffani Battiste, D.O., was asked to speak after the city passed a motion for her to do so since she was not on the agenda. She is an E.R. doctor working at the Wellington emergency room but not an Ascension employee.

She said very little that it is up to the city what it wants to do with the emergency department.

Council member Kevin Dodds then told her:

“We value the emergency room, we value that service, we fought hard to get it here after we lost the hospital. It is very invaluable to the community. Have we been approached with an independent company who can help with transports like Eagle Med is doing in Winfield? It seems like a viable option to explore. I hate to see people wait 4, 6 or 8 hours in the emergency room, because we are short staffed with EMTs.”

Battiste said she had not been contacted but heard Eagle Med has reached out.

Wellington City Manager Jeff Porter said Eagle Med is only licensed to transport non-emergency cases and outpatient surgeries.

“They are a van service, not an emergency service,” he said. “They can’t do emergency-related ambulance transport.”

“I hate what this has turned to. Please understand the value we have for your facility, your staff, and the service you provide in this town,” Dodds said. “Just because there have been some errors in judgment by the city, in my opinion, I hope it doesn’t affect our overall relationship and we strive to work together.”

Council member Rick Roitman said he has talked to fire/EMS personnel and people working in the emergency room for Ascension. Everyone has the same goal: they want to provide service to this community.

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In other news:

•The council will hold a work session on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. to discuss replacing the existing ladder fire truck with an aerial platform apparatus. After the bidding process, all bids came in significantly higher numbers — above the $1 million set aside in the 2024 city budget. The least expensive unit came in at nearly $1.6 million. The Wellington/Fire Department currently has a “Quint,” which is 24 years old and has several things going wrong.

•The council approved the purchase of Body Worn Cameras/In-car cameras for the Wellington Police Department through a Department of Justice Bryne Grant for $137,506 from Axon Enterprises in Scottsdale, Ariz.

•The council permitted payments to adjacent property owners to acquire the right-of-way for a sidewalk to be constructed from the roundabout to Woodlawn Ave.

•A used refuse collection truck will be purchased for the Sanitation Department for $92,500.

•The city is getting four new properties for the landbank: 1201 Crestridge, 1209 Crestridge, 1101 Myles Drive and 1321 Lincoln.

•The property at 509 East Third has been condemned.

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Correction: In a previous version of the story, it was stated that the Fire/EMS Chief had six months to relocate to Wellington. He actually said a year.

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