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Health & Fitness

May 20 Town Council meeting

Council heard from the West Orange First Aid Squad (WOFAS) about litigation it initiated to delay the administration’s competitive bidding for an emergency medical service (EMS) provider at the May 20, 2014, town council meeting. Council also approved proposals to hire an engineering firm to develop designs and specifications for street improvements for $15,800 and to release Open Space Trust funds for a survey and appraisals for unimproved property at 762 Pleasant Valley Way

The meeting agendas and related materials are here. Video of the meeting -- downloadable and indexed so you can quickly find the topics you’re looking for – is here.

WOFAS President James Troisi spoke during Public Comment, saying the organization asked for an injunction to delay the competitive bidding for an EMS provider because of concerns that it could violate anti-kickback laws -- and potentially cause WOFAS shut down after 50 years of service.

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At issue is WOFAS’s recent shift to a part-paid, part-volunteer business model to address staffing concerns. The shift included WOFAS billing insurance carriers for its service, just as the town does. The administration has previously said WOFAS’s billing required the town to competitively bid for the service, which WOFAS disputes.

Mr. Troisi said WOFAS initiated the request for an injunction after reviewing the bid specifications, asking the town for a delay and consulting legal advice. “All four attorneys … provided us with virtually identical legal opinions: Provisions of the original bid spec had significant potential to violate both state and federal anti-kickback statutes. We believe then, and we still believe, that the prudent course of action was to seek an opinion from the United States Office of the Inspector General.

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“While it would take a few months to receive a response, there would be no cost to anyone. And the opinion would be binding and would protect both the successful vendor and the township from any future civil or criminal penalties if the bid spec was found to violate Medicare or Medicaid regulations.”

Superior Court Judge Thomas R. Vena denied the WOFAS request for the injunction May 8. Mr. Troisi said, however, that before the ruling, the administration issued a fifth addendum to the bid procedures. He said this addendum removed all the legal issues in dispute in the original bid specification, which he said would have cleared the way for WOFAS to bid. But he said this addendum also limited the selected EMS provider to go into service only if the town fire department’s three ambulances were handling other EMS calls.

“Financially, this is unsustainable, and we were therefore precluded from bidding,” Mr. Troisi said. “In fact, we urge you to exercise serious caution in evaluating a proposal from any vendor that’s willing to staff and maintain an ambulance 24-7, presumably for exclusive West Orange use, under such an arrangement. There would almost have to be some another agenda or regional intent for any company to be willing to risk such a significant loss.”

Mr. Troisi, saying the bid specification called for WOFAS to give up more than half of the building at 25 Mount Pleasant Place it had occupied exclusively for more than 40 years, called the modification on EMS call distribution “a childish tit-for-tat scenario.” He warned that if the bid process moved forward that it could cause WOFAS to dissolve just before it celebrates its half-century of service later this year.

Ken Kayser, assistant town attorney, said he considered the litigation to be continuing until the time for WOFAS to appeal had passed. He urged the council members not to speak about the litigation or be “very careful” about what they said.

John Gross, the town’s chief financial officer, said the intent of the bid process was not to put WOFAS out of business. I responded by saying that while that may be true, the administration’s actions appeared to have the effect of forcing WOFAS to dissolve. I also pointed out that WOFAS provides its service free to the town, while staffing with fire department employees has significant compensation costs.

A 19-minute excerpt of Mr. Troisi’s statement and reaction from the council and administration is here. The council has scheduled an executive session, not open to the public, for the June 10 council meeting to discuss the issue.

Council approved the administration’s request to approve for the contract to hire Keller & Kirkpatrick of Morris Plains to provide design and specification services for 10 streets as part of 2014 capital improvements. The town solicited competitive proposals from four firms, which bid from $15,800 to $24,900. The streets are:

-  Oak Crest Road

-  Hickory Road

-  Beech Road

-  Oak Ridge Road

-  Ashland Avenue

-  Wellington Avenue

-  Hillside Avenue

-  Pine Street

-  Birch Street

-  Amos Street

Town Engineer Leonard Lepore removed from the contract two other streets, Mayfair Drive and Nestro Road, for separate initiatives.

Council also approved 4-1 the administration’s request to release West Orange Open Space Trust Fund money to explore the potential to acquire a 9.7-acre parcel of unimproved property bounded to the east by Pleasant Valley Way and to the south by Hooper Avenue. The West Orange Open Space Commission requested the services, which Mr. Lepore estimated at the May 12 Open Space meeting at approximately $15,000.

The state Green Acres program requires two appraisals if it decides to fund up to half of a qualifying open space acquisition. Mr. Lepore recommended a survey of the property that will identify the various elements that will make the property difficult, if not impossible, to develop. The owner is listing the property for sale at a price of $725,000, although it has an appraised value of $291,300. West Orange property owners pay approximately $150,000 to fund the West Orange Open Space Trust Fund annually. I voted against the the proposal largely because of Mr. Lepore’s evaluation of the property as unlikely to economically support development because of environmental concerns and property-access constraints.

Council also approved acceptance of a $5,000 federal matching grant for the town office of emergency management. The town will provide match funding through existing salaries and wages. The resolution doesn’t specify what the funds will be used for. If approved, the grant will also amend the 2014 budget.

If you’d like to contact the council with your thoughts on any of these issues, please send an e-mail to council@westorange.org or call 973.325.4155 to leave a message.

I’m a West Orange Township councilman since 2010, reachable at jkrakoviak@westorange.org. I'm a business communications consultant in my spare time.

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