Malverne Mayor Responds to Criticism Over Ambulance Headquarters

When Malverne Mayor Patricia Norris McDonald flipped through a recent edition of a local community newspaper, she was shocked to read that the was accusing her administration of putting the viability of the organization in jeopardy - and all for the sake of winning over voters.

In the Dec. 22 article, Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps (MVAC) President Joe Karam said the village was expecting to charge the organization $24,000 a year to rent the new headquarters currently under construction near the Malverne DPW building.

Karam was quoted as saying, “There’s no way in hell we can afford twenty-four thousand a year, no way in hell. There’s no way we could do it…It’s insane and it’s just going to put the ambulance corps under. …this building that they’re building us is great — there’s no way the ambulance corps can afford it. They’re doing it because elections are coming up in March. That’s all this is, to make them look good.”

 Karam later told McDonald during a public meeting of the village board of trustees in early January that some of the information attributed to him in the article was said “off the record” and taken out of context.

"I told the editor that this is what the residents were saying...off the record,” Karam told McDonald at the Jan. 5 meeting. “It isn't my personal opinion.” (Click for a full recap of the meeting.)

McDonald, who said she has been working with MVAC for years over building a headquarters for them in the village even though they are not a municipal entity, took offense to the accusation that her efforts were nothing more than a stunt to win voters as village election day approaches in March.

“I’m glad you corrected it,” she said to Karam.

Both village officials and members of MVAC also say that the price of rent has yet to determined at this time. The $24,000 figure that caused a stir when published in the press, was what village officials had been told was the fair market value of renting a facility such as this, but it was never stated that this would be the amount MVAC would be charged.

Karam was not available to comment on the matter by press time, but according to Carol Hassett, a life member of MVAC, the two parties are expected to meet some time this week to negotiate the price.

 In an interview with Patch earlier this month, McDonald explained the work that she, her fellow village officials and members of MVAC have put in over the last few years to formulate a plan that will improve the emergency services available to residents while also ensuring that the ambulance corps can sustain itself.

 “We have been very honest and open with them and gone to numerous meetings,” McDonald said while seated at her desk in Village Hall. “I don’t know what else this board can do for them." Referring to the news article, she added, “Making statements like that doesn’t help the relationship."

As a lifelong resident of Malverne, McDonald said she personally knows how important the ambulance corps is to the village.

 “We're sympathetic …we are going to work with them," she said.

 It was after an outside consultant came in and conducted a review of the services in the village, that it became apparent there was a need to construct a facility for members of the Ambulance Corps to work out of, especially during the daytime.

 “We saw they were not in service during the day hours,” McDonald said.

 This had not been an issue in the past because women were less likely to work during the day and were available to volunteer. McDonald added that throughout the country “volunteerism across the board has gone down.”

 A headquarters based in the village would allow MVAC to fill the coverage gap during the day with students from nearby schools who are studying medicine and need to volunteer in the field, but do not live in Malverne. This would also enable them to boost their numbers by recruiting other volunteers who do not live in the village but could devote their time if they had a facility to stay at while on call, McDonald explained.

Already MVAC has an additional 12 volunteers going through the certification process who will use the new facility once it is complete.

 About five years ago, the village had the drawings made up for a two-story building that would house the DPW and MVAC buildings, she said, but the estimated cost was over $2 million.

 “The economy went bust and the board could not go out to debt without knowing the future,” McDonald said. “They didn’t want to put us in more debt.”

The DPW building was in “dire need of repair” though, McDonald said, and after the village completed construction on that facility they looked to filling MVAC’s need for a headquarters.

The current plan is to add a 20-feet extension to the bay that MVAC already uses to store one of its ambulances on the DPW property. The village broke ground on this project in November and even helped MVAC move all of their equipment off the property and into storage for the construction to take place.

"Most importantly is the life and safety of residences who live in Malverne...but all across the country, financially, times are tough and we have to look at this also,” McDonald said.

The project is expected to cost $750,000. The village received a $60,000 grant from Legis. Francis Becker, R-Lynbrook, and MVAC will provide $150,000, which it has fundraised already. This will count as the organization’s rent for the next six to seven years.

The village is – by law – required to charge rent to MVAC, even though it is a non-profit organization because it is not a village department. It’s an independent body. Members of MVAC and residents of the community have proposed the village only ask the ambulance corps to pay $1 per year then, but McDonald says this option would not be feasible or fair.

If however, MVAC were to become part of the village, the rent would be waived completely, an option McDonald and the trustees have presented to the corps’ leaders.

"They made it apparent that they don't want to become part of the village,” McDonald said.

The village has suggested MVAC continue to fundraise to pay for their rent and start charging residents outside the village who use their services. Right now, even though only Malverne taxpayers foot the costs for MVAC,  about 20 percent of the calls the ambulance corps responds to are from homes outside the village including North Lynbrook and Malverne Park.

“It’s not fair…you’re being supported by the village of Malverne and giving the service free of charge [to outsiders],”  McDonald said.

As for the accusations that this is all a publicity ploy to look good before election rolls around, McDonald said, "I'm going to do what I've always done, trying to maintain the character and charm of the village and the services people have become accustomed to.”