Lomira to Contract Ambulance Services with Mayville EMS

The Lomira Village Board is moving forward with plans to contract ambulance services with Mayville EMS, following a discussion at its November 12 meeting.

Lomira received quotes for EMS services from Campbellsport, Theresa, and Mayville. The Village of Lomira currently contracts with Theresa Ambulance Services; however, recent staffing shortages have limited Theresa’s ability to respond to calls, leading the village to consider other options.

Theresa Ambulance Services presently has one applicant for the open director position and two for the EMT position. Theresa Ambulance Commission Chair Brian Ries also expressed that there may be some past staff members who are interested in applying, depending on what the local municipal boards decide.

“All I can say is we’re going to do the best we can to meet the needs of the village,” said Ries. “I can’t guarantee anything, though. It’s a crystal ball I don’t have.”

“That’s my problem: the instability. In general, emergency care is tough, regardless of where it is,” responded Trustee Gary More. “That’s part of the reason why I lean toward Mayville. The reason is they are looking at a long-term contract. They would like to be contracted with us for up to five years. They seem to have their people in place . . . Without a doubt, Theresa has serviced very well throughout the years. I don’t question that. But in recent years, I can’t see that Theresa is stable enough at this point for my liking.”

Trustee More’s leaning towards contracting with Mayville was not shared by all board members and village organizations.

“I spoke with our village EMTs and our village firefighters. They’re leaning towards giving Theresa a chance. They have been working with them. They know they’re certified with them,” stated Trustee Becky Alf. “I have nothing against Mayville. I have nothing against Theresa. But I asked the people who do it. I don’t do it. I’m not out there. I feel like we should give them a chance instead of jumping ship.”

Trustee Alf further explained that village first responders were worried about no longer being cross-credentialed. Cross-credentialing allows the Lomira EMRs to start providing medical care before an ambulance arrives.

The floor was opened for Mayville EMS Director Julie Staffin to address these concerns.

“The Village of Lomira EMR and Mayville EMS and Theresa EMS all have the same medical control. What that means is that we can cross-credential with anyone who is in those services,” explained Staffin. “They’re training with us. We’re working under the same protocols. We supply them with medications that they need at the level that they’re at. So we’re all kind of in the same place and hearing the same information.”

One of the board’s largest concerns about contracting with Mayville EMS was the possible delay in call response time compared to Theresa Ambulance Services due to distance.

“There is not going to be a very large delay,” said Staffin. “When Theresa gets paged, there’s already a delay because they page multiple times for additional staff prior to going in service . . . Our goal is to try to not have that happen. Our plan is to staff two ambulances 24/7. We’ve talked about possibly placing a first responder vehicle up in this area. There are lots of different options that are available. We’re already responding on a regular basis to the Village of Lomira.”

According to Staffin, Mayville EMS calculated that there would be roughly a 14 to 20-minute maximum delay in call response, and has responded to Lomira 61 times in the last 100 days.

“If Theresa came back and said, ‘We have the jobs filled. We’re confident we’re going to proceed,’ I would pay the $6,000 more and go with Theresa,” stated Trustee Eric Kohlmann earlier in the meeting. “But, because of the fact that there’s so much in flux, I’m worried about signing emergency services with an organization that, at the end of the year, we don’t know what state they’re going to be in.”

Trustee Joey Jewell made the motion to contract ambulance services with Mayville EMS, which passed 6-1. Trustee Alf opposed.

Board Matters:
• The board discussed approving Resolution #1065, increase tax levy. The resolution authorizes a levy increase “for [an] $800,000 general obligation note for improvement projects in the Village of Lomira.” A public hearing concerning the village borrowing $800,000 on a ten-year note was held on October 12, 2016, in which “those residents in attendance agree[d] to borrow for municipal projects. A motion to approve Resolution #1065 was made by Trustee Gary More and passed unanimously.
• The board also considered passing Resolution #1066, adopting the 2026 operating budgets. The proposed general fund budget is $1,932,354.75, and the proposed sewer and water utility budgets are $1,192,000 and $872,300, respectively. The motion to pass Resolution #1066 was made by Trustee More and passed unanimously.
• The last resolution the board discussed was Resolution #1067, setting the mill rate. The resolution levies a tax amount of $1,254,300.86 and a mill rate of 6.81 mills. Trustee Jennifer Priesgen made the motion to approve Resolution #1067, which passed unanimously.
• The board discussed appointing Peter Kuen to serve a four-year term on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Kuen currently serves on the commission, and the board did not receive any other notifications of interest. The motion to appoint Kuen to the commission was made by Trustee Priesgen and passed unanimously.
• The board considered granting operator liquor licenses to William Bloch, Steven Johannes, Margaret Powers, Stacy VanEpps, Elizabeth Bingen, Mercedes Crook, Annette Hechimovich, Amber Hafermann, Jessica Hall, Hailie Lauren, Samantha Schmid, Brock Laning, Rebecca Zapf, Mandi Brehm, Nicole Frakes, Jani Bingen, Christy Young, Theresa Ford, Jack Baron, Jennifer Reiman, Jolene Valle, Hailey Laidler, and Lynn Koll. A motion to grant the licenses was made by Trustee Alf and passed unanimously.
• Director of Public Works Nick Roskopf presented a potential update to the village’s 5-year road plan. The proposed update was to replace the Willow Street project planned for 2026 with a Maple Street project. The Willow Street project is completely repaving a 439-foot section between Garden Street and Third Street for roughly $35,000. The proposed Maple Street project would be a complete repave of a 1,030-foot section between Milwaukee Street and Third Street, costing approximately $110,000. The reason for the proposed change was the condition of Maple Street compared to Willow Street and the availability of Local Roads Improvement Program (LRIP) funding. The funds for either project would be taken from the wheel tax. Trustee Jewell made a motion to update the 5-year road plan to include both the Willow Street and Maple Street projects in 2026, funded by the wheel tax and potential grants. The motion passed unanimously.
• Roskopf also informed the board that Water Quality Investigations discovered that Well 2 is “extremely full of biofilm” and recommends extensive cleaning treatments as well as an extended tailpipe for efficiency in pumping and future cleaning. It has been about 10 years since the well was cleaned. The proposed cleaning is to hopefully prevent the village from needing to install a radium filter in the future due to rising radium levels, which are naturally occurring. Installing a radium filter would cost roughly $2-3 million. The cleaning would cost roughly $87,000, $50,000 of which was budgeted for. The remainder of the funds would come from the utility fund. Trustee More made an emergency motion to approve the cleaning and pipe installation, which passed unanimously. An emergency motion was made because it was not an agenda item.