Council tables EMS requests

The Yoakum City Council has tabled a couple of requests made by Yoakum Emergency Medical Services at the April 9 meeting.

One of these requests were for the addition of two full-time employees for the EMS department.

“Although our call volume is not necessarily going up dramatically over the past ten or so years, we are seeing a more frequent volume of calls happening at the same time,” Assistant Fire Chief Nick Kresta said. “Sometimes we have critically ill patients that need more than two personnel to help treat them. Having four people on every shift will allow us to help accommodate transportation to a definitive care. Just for this year alone, the number of times that we’ve needed more than one EMS unit on scene or that we’ve had multiple calls at the same time is roughly 40% of the time. The quantity of calls happening at the same time is going up quickly.”

In order to balance the budget of two additional personnel , EMS aims to reduce overtime.

Council has tabled these requests so they can look at the budget and determine if these requests are financially sound.

Also at the meeting, the Yoakum Independent School District has requested the closure of McKinnon Street.

They requested this to accommodate their new baseball and softball fields which they will be implementing near that location.

“One of the reasons for this closure is due to safety because you don’t want cars running through there while the students are playing,” YISD Superintendent Tom Kelley said.

“There’s also a sewer line running under that street that would be a problem.”

Other items on the agenda includes:

• The Yoakum Historical African American Cemetery asked council to file a designation for the cemetery solidifying that it is a cemetery and not a vacant lot.

• The Yoakum Chamber of Commerce asked council to make amendments for the lessee rules and regulations at the Yoakum Community Center. One of the changes includes that there will be no more “bring your own beer” into the premises of the ce n t er. Any and all alcohol served in that facility must be done by a server who has completed their TABC qualifications . Th e chamber also requested street closures for the 1st Annual Tomato Trail 5K Fun Run. This will be Saturday, June 1 at 7 a.m.

• Council tabled an agreement from Rise Broadband for the use of poles and rights-ofway for the installation of fiber lines.

• Beginning June 3, the hours of operation for the Solid Waste Department and the Municipal Transfer Station will change to accommodate the summer heat.