The Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the expansion of the county’s one quick-response vehicle (QRV) to 24/7 operations on Monday night.
The QRV helps EMS deliver care to patients on-site, but it doesn’t allow for patient transport, like an ambulance.
EMS received 2,900 calls last year. It’s already received 837 calls this year, putting the agency on track to surpass 3,000 calls in 2026.
“We’ve seen our call volume increasing over the years, and our transport volume is just not matching,” EMS director Josh Robinson said.
The QRV, which was introduced to the county in 2021, operates 12 hours a day, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“It has really broadened out what we could do with it than to just cover for emergency medical response,” Robinson said at the meeting, which lasted 47 minutes and was attended by about 30 people. “And it's been a great asset to the community.”
The expansion will be paid for this year by a $133,120 budget amendment starting in July, with funds coming from the county’s fund balance.
Expanding the QRV hours lets the county avoid adding another ambulance, which costs over $530,000 a year to staff, county administrator Jason Lewis said. The county has two 24-hour staffed ambulances.
The board also unanimously approved to continue the county’s outdoor burn ban through the end of May, as advised by EMA director Douglas Spencer.
The ban was issued on April 4 and was scheduled to end at midnight on Monday.
“We are not out of a drought, despite the rain that we have had,” Spencer said.
The ban comes after measures from the Governor’s Office and the Georgia Forestry Commission in response to wildfires in South Georgia and drought across the state.
“It's important to understand that Oglethorpe County has not done anything that the state of Georgia hasn’t already done,” Spencer said. “We have simply said that we agree that this is a problem — we don’t want it to occur here.”
The ban doesn’t limit agricultural activity or activities like grilling.
The BOC also unanimously approved a $46,901.36 bid — the lowest of three — to add 16 parking spaces to the senior center in Crawford by filling the spaces between the existing lot and the road. The project would also repave the uneven existing lot.
“Over the past four years, we have been growing so much,” said Corie Robinson, director of the senior center.
The senior center averages 47 clients a day, Robinson said, but has only 22 parking spaces, forcing members — who are 60 years and older — to park along the side of the road or in grassy areas.
“We are family there,” said Crawford’s Patsy Cruce, a member of the senior center.
The project will be paid for by surplus funds from the county’s FEMA reimbursement.
The board’s three quotes were from Hammond Grading and Paving in Bogart, ASA Paving in Washington and Garrett Paving Company in Athens. Hammond Grading and Paving was the lowest bid.
In other business, the BOC:
Unanimously denied a variance request from Richard Goodson Sr. from the minimum acreage for A2 zoning to subdivide a 15-acre parcel on Comer Road. The Zoning Board recommended denial. (District 5)
Unanimously approved a variance request from Alex Mikle from the minimum acreage for A2 zoning to subdivide a 12.6-acre parcel on Faust Farm Road for family. The Zoning Board recommended approval. (District 4)
Approved 4-1 a rezone request, with the recommendations suggested by the Zoning Board, from Nelida Serrano to rezone a parcel on Comer Road from agriculture residential to highway business to create a wedding venue. The Zoning Board recommended approval, if the rezone is limited to the site plan and a wedding venue. (District 5)
Unanimously reappointed Lewis to a three-year term on the Northeast Georgia Region 10 Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council. The new term will end June 30, 2029.
- Unanimously voted to table revisions to the Oglethorpe County UDC Section 712: Solar Energy Systems. The revisions would add a battery storage ordinance, which the county doesn’t have.