Councilman-elect sues for seat
$12M in deals on Val Vista
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
INSIDE
This Week
COMMUNITY......... 19 Gilbert photographer launches Button project.
BUSINESS..................21 Gilbert cooking school a hit.
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE OF GILBERT) | GilbertSunNews.com
Sunday, August 23, 2020
Ambulance plan appears headed for town OK BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
T
own Council may pull the trigger Tuesday on a proposal to form an in-house ambulance service in Gilbert that could begin operations as early as May. On the consent agenda are two purchase requests – $1.4 million to buy six ambulances and $253,000 to buy six ambulance stretchers and power cots. According to officials, a town-operated ambulance service would ensure all parts of Gilbert are equally served – which they say is not happening now with American Medical Response. AMR assigns four ambulances to service the town of about 254,000, with two more medi-
cal transports added during peak times. The contract with AMR may be extended for two years on Tuesday, which staff said would give time for the town to explore its options. One of the termination clauses in the agreement states that either side can opt out for any reason at any time with a 90-day written notice. Councilman Jared Taylor, who is critical of the proposal, told Gilbert Sun News that there has not been enough public input even though town officials held a virtual open house on the proposal two weeks ago. “I hope the public realizes it’s just their opinion,” Taylor said of town staff. “We need an honest, open discussion and not a one-sided push for ambulances and to take it over. They are still hiding a bunch of money. They
GPS eyes partial in-class learning by Sept. 8
really want to show they are better than all the alternatives.” Taylor said the town should go through a full request-for-proposals process and that AMR is meeting its contractual obligations, though he acknowledged, “There are things we can improve on.” He claimed that if the town operated an ambulance service, it would lose nearly $1 million a year for the exact same service AMR provides. He noted that Gilbert receives approximately $300,000 a year from AMR for leasing town space for its ambulances. “They’re changing the definition of success they have with the service level agreement
School daze
see AMBULANCE page 11
BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
SPORTS...................... 24 Virus shrinks school sports budgets.
PUZZLE......................................... 7 COMMUNITY....................................... 19 BUSINESS.............................................20 OPINION..................................... 23 SPORTS.......................................24 CLASSIFIED..........................................26
G
ilbert Public Schools is looking to send kids back into classrooms part time Sept. 8 and full time on Sept. 21, provided it is safe to do so. Staff presented a phased opening plan to the Governing Board in last week’s special meeting. The board is expected to reaffirm the plan at this Tuesday’s meeting. “Our end goal as a board for everyone concerned is as soon as possible, sooner than later,” board President Charles Santa Cruz said. “At some point all of our kids will be back on campus with in-person instruction and all of us moving forward. I think that’s the end goal and I think we made some strides and taken some steps to work towards that.” Currently students are learning remotely since the start of school
see SCHOOLS page 4
Hundreds of Gilbert high school juniors and seniors were back in classrooms last week at the East Valley Institute of Technology, but hallways cast an eerie sight as students observed social distancing, walking single-filed in one direction - a sight likely to be replicated in most Gilbert schools when campuses reopen. Details: Page 6. (Patrick Jervis Jr./Courtesy of EVIT)