Tuesday’s special called city commission meeting revealed details about Castlen Dog Park and the City and County’s transition to a new ambulance provider.
According to City Manager Nate Pagan, construction on Castlen Dog Park will officially begin on Wednesday. After a debacle regarding the correct fencing for the project, things are finally moving in the right direction, officials said.
According to City officials, the contractor had attempted to begin construction with a cheaper fencing material than Owensboro had proposed a bid for, so the project was delayed until the correct material was put in the right hands.
“They put this contract out, and it was awarded to somebody in Louisville or Lexington and they brought junk in here,” said Mayor Tom Watson. “Our staff said, ‘No, that’s not good enough–bring the real stuff.’ And they fixed it before it became a problem.”
As for the ambulance transition, Owensboro Fire Department Fire Chief Steve Mitchell described the overnight transition from Procarent’s Yellow Ambulance to AMR as a very smooth process. In fact, Mitchell believes the process went so well, nobody in the general public would’ve guessed that a different ambulance provider had taken over.
“I guarantee you, no one knew what happened on June 30 at 7 p.m., but that transition did happen,” he said.
AMR now employees 63 full and part-time employees, Mitchell said.
“Our goal was 65, so we’re right where we need to be,” he said.
