The towns of Royalton, Sharon and Tunbridge are considering forming a tri-town rescue squad. In Tunbridge, the plan will go before voters in August.
Currently, at least portions of all three towns are covered by the South Royalton Rescue Squad. Under a draft contract to be adopted by the three towns, the South Royalton Squad will fold and its members will become part of the new tri-town service.
But before the Tunbridge Select Board signs on the dotted line, the town is putting the issue before the voters on August 26. A final informational meeting before the vote will be held on July 29, a notice on the town website states.
The Tunbridge Selectboard and the Emergency Services Committee will hold the final informational meeting prior to a special town meeting to determine Tunbridge’s participation in the proposed Tunbridge, Royalton, and Sharon ambulance service. The meeting will be held on July 29th in the Town Hall at 7:00 p.m. There will be a presentation on our current ambulance services, the proposed three-town collaboration, and an opportunity to ask questions of and provide feedback to the select board, the Emergency Services Committee, a representative from Two Rivers Ottauquechee Regional Commission, the attorney who drafted the proposed three town contract, and a representative from both the Sharon and Royalton select boards.
The vote will be held at a special town meeting, at the Tunbridge Central School, at 7 p.m. on August 26. The notice on the town website states:
This meeting will have one article: to authorize the select board to enter into a contract to form a three-town ambulance service. If the article passes Tunbridge will move forward in its collaboration with Sharon and Royalton to realize the joint service. If the article fails, Tunbridge will continue to purchase emergency services from South Royalton Rescue and First Branch Ambulance.
Tunbridge residents who are not able to attend the meetings are encouraged to pass questions on to select board administrative assistant Wendy McCullough. The board says notes from the meeting, the draft proposal and a copy of the PowerPoint presentation will be made available on the town website.
