By David O’connor
Lancaster New Era (Pennsylvania)
Copyright 2006 Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.
LANCASTER, Pa. — A year-long issue in Columbia - the question of who will provide ambulance service to the borough — is expected to come to an end Tuesday night.
But there are now some 11th-hour fireworks riding along in the back.
The head of one of the three services competing to be the borough’s provider has charged that a member of Columbia Borough Council came to his emergency group’s headquarters on Aug. 20 and was “totally out of control, and his behavior alarmed my volunteers.”
In an interview, the council member, Columbia dentist Dr. Stephen Perry, flatly rejected those allegations. “I’m a councilman. I don’t act like that. I’m a professional, and I have a lot more at stake than he does,” Perry said.
The executive director of the Columbia Quick Response Service Inc., Frank Splain Jr., made the charges against Perry in a letter to borough council.
Splain charged that Perry showed up unannounced at the QRS station, 518 Union St., for what the councilman, who was appointed several months ago, called an “on-spot inspection” of the service.
Splain charged that Perry “was totally out of control, and his behavior alarmed my volunteers to call me, and I responded to the station. Following many insults and demands to ride our vehicles, Perry left.”
Splain continued, “I am very disappointed at this incident, and would respectfully request (council) look into this incident, as this type of behavior was most uncalled for and was very hurtful to the highly-trained men and women” of QRS.
He said Perry has been “outspoken” against his three-year-old service, and that the incident was witnessed by four other QRS members.
Perry acknowledged that he showed up at QRS that day, but he said it was not for an “inspection,” as Splain alleges.
“I wanted to see what this facility was and some of their operations, basically what is it these guys do and what do they want from us,” Perry said.
“I went in their facility and told them I wanted to look around the area and see what was going on. They immediately called Mr. Splain,” he said.
Perry said he waited in a garage for a half-hour until Splain showed up. When he did, the conversation did not go well, Perry recounted.
“I guess he was surprised and a bit perturbed that somebody walked on his territory,” Perry said. “I wasn’t making any progress,” he said, so he left the site.
“I don’t have to argue with anybody. I don’t have to do that. I have all the right to do that (visit the site) as a councilman because I’m going to be voting on a contract with this place,” Perry said.
He said he made a similar visit that day to Columbia’s current provider, Susquehanna Valley Emergency Medical Services.
“I had spent 45 minutes to one hour at Susquehanna,” he said.
Susquehanna Valley EMS, Columbia QRS and a private for-profit group, DRS Transport, are vying for consideration to be the sole emergency provider in Columbia.
Tuesday’s session is a special borough council meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Susquehanna Fire Company, 10th and Manor streets.
Council will hear presentations from all groups, and then take a vote on who will provide ambulance service in Columbia.
Earlier this month, Susquehanna Valley EMS won a prestigious award as best emergency provider in Pennsylvania at an annual statewide conference.
Columbia QRS director Splain, however, said his organization was formed to respond to emergencies when Susquehanna Valley EMS is transporting to a hospital outside of Columbia.
Splain’s service formed the same day that Lancaster General Hospital’s Susquehanna Division’s emergency department closed.
At Tuesday’s council session, each of the three emergency services will get a half-hour to make their presentation, council President Robert Buzzendore said Friday.
That will be followed by citizens’ comments, and then “council has a decision to make,” Buzzendore said.
Columbia QRS had presented a proposal to borough council in 2005, asking to be the borough’s provider.
As for Splain’s charges against Perry, Buzzendore is investigating and wants to hear from both sides before making any decision.
“I’m treating it like a personnel issue, because I’m trying to get to the bottom of what happened,” Buzzendore said. “Citizens deserve to learn more about what really happened.
“It involves a public official, who someone is claiming acted in an inappropriate manner, so I am addressing it.”
He won’t be dealing with the matter Tuesday, Buzzendore added, but expects to do so at an upcoming council meeting. And “I want to hear Dr. Perry’s comments, to see what he has to say,” the council president added.
Perry, who admitted at one recent council meeting that he has “an abrasive personality,” has become what some officials have called “a lightning rod” for divisiveness in Columbia since his appointment.
He was at the forefront of efforts to dismantle the historic architectural review board in Columbia, which failed.
Splain, of Maytown, several years ago was a frequent critic of the township government in East Donegal.
Buzzendore, the council president, believes everyone involved has the best interests at heart for Columbia, the river town trying to revitalize its downtown and take other steps forward. And it has seen many pluses, like the re-opening of its historic market house and a major antiques center.
The council president doesn’t like it when people say things like, “Columbia government’s in turmoil.”
“It’s not in turmoil, I think it’s democracy in action ... if everyone agreed on everything, you wouldn’t need a democracy, you could just appoint a dictator to decide things,” Buzzendore said.