By Nathan Mayberg
MONTICELLO — December 14, 2004 – Long a staple of the Village of Monticello and an occupant of the Neighborhood Facility, the Monticello Volunteer Ambulance Association has been evicted from its building, owned by the village.
Mayor James Barnicle threatened to throw out the group last August for failing to meet safety quotas with the New York State Department of Health.
However, he declined to comment this time around.
Joseph Dimura, a spokesman for the New York State Department of Health, said the department declined to renew their state operating certificate, requiring them to close due to their non-compliance with state law.
The volunteer group has been inactive since July, said its captain, James Shields. He said the corps is relocating to a building near the intersection of Broadway and Waverly Avenue.
Shields plans to reapply for certification. He said the group’s former leadership failed to apply for recertification for over a year and that the group is currently investigating why its past leadership neglected such.
“We want to make sure that never happens again,” he said.
Last August, Health Department spokeswoman Claire Pospisil said the state was going to cite the group for operating without a state license.
Dimura said, “Our priority is to ensure that there is access to life-saving emergency and acute care services in the region. We closely monitored the Monticello Volunteer Association . . . to ensure appropriate emergency medical services were being provided to the community. . . . We are working with Sullivan County and other emergency providers in the region to ensure community access to these vital services.”
MobileMedic Emergency Medical Services, a for-profit, professional paramedic organization, is now the lone year-round ambulance service inside the village.