The Henry County Board of Supervisors will consider several requests when it meets Tuesday, including one from Ques Transport, LLC, which is asking for approval to operate an ambulance service.
The meeting gets underway at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28, in the Summerlin Room of the Henry County Administration Building.
According to a memo from Brandon Quesinberry, president and a paramedic, the transport company is currently working toward obtaining an EMS agency license. Its office and ambulances are located in commercially zoned property. The company is currently in the final stages of securing a 3-year lease on a property at 4259 Appalachian Dr., Fieldale.
“The reason for obtaining an EMS agency license is to provide ambulance transport services for Sovah Health Martinsville and other medical facilities,” Quesinberry wrote. “These services have been a growing need in our community and as a paramedic, I have seen firsthand the impact of the limited availability of this type of service.”
He said he decided to form the company “after years of monitoring the need for this type of service.”
Quesinberry is seeking the board’s approval to establish the company as a Designated Emergency Response Agency. The Code of Virginia grants the local governing body the authority to approve, by resolution, the creation of any new EMS agency formed after July 1, 1984.
Although the e Virginia Department of Health, Office of Emergency Medical Services is the regulatory authority for EMS organizations, local government approval is required before the organization can apply for an Emergency Medical Services License.
Quesinberry indicates that he intends to provide interfacility transport services for Sovah Health of Martinsville and other medical facilities. It would not be dispatched by the county’s 9-1-1 Center, and would not be eligible to respond to emergency calls.
In other matters Tuesday, the board will:
*Consider a request from staff to award a $349,000 contract to D.H. Griffin of Greensboro, North Carolina, to demolish the previous jail building. Following a competitive bid process, D.H. Griffin was selected to conduct the demolition and return the lot to a grassed area. Funding for this project is included in the capital improvement plan.
*Consider a request from Public Safety Director Matt Tatum, who is asking the board to award a $199,969 contract to Vest Sales and Service, Inc. of Check, VA, for the re-chassis of an existing 2019 Ambulance to a 2025 Ford 4×4.
*Consider a request from county staff to approve a $78,402 contract to TK Elevator located in Roanoke, to update the elevator cabs and shafts in the administration building. Funds for this project are included in the Capital Improvements Plan budget.
*Consider a request from staff to award a $389,513 contract to Excel Truck Group of Roanoke, to buy a 2025 Mack LR front-loading garbage truck to replace an existing truck experiencing repeated equipment failures. Funds for the purchase are included in the capital discretionary fund.
*Consider a request from Chief Purchasing Agent Carole Jones, who is asking the board to award a contract to Bassett Office Supply, Inc. to supply and deliver office supplies to County offices. The contract is for one year with an option to renew for up to seven one-year periods.
*Consider a staff request to approve a $212,139 contract to Berkley Group, LLC, of Bridgewater, Virginia, to provide Comprehensive Planning Services over the next two years for a complete rewrite of the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
*Consider a request to approve an additional appropriation of $20,000 in grant funds from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to hire a licensed surveyor to reconfigure 31 existing lots into 16 building lots for the Villa Heights Housing Project.
* Sheriff Wayne Davis is asking the Board to approve an additional appropriation of $3,784 and $11,914 received from a 2022 and 2023 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). The grant funds are authorized for deputy overtime, special operations, and off-site security of inmates during medical procedures.
*Consider an additional appropriation of $1,500,000 received as two grants from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development for the Fieldale Heritage Revitalization Project. In 2021, Henry County was awarded a $500,000 grant through the Virginia Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), followed in 2022 with a $1,000,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). Both grants were awarded specifically for renovations to the Historic Fieldale Community Center.
*Commonwealth’s Attorney Andrew Nester requested the approval of an additional appropriation of $1,341 from State Asset Forfeiture funds for the purchase of furniture and fixtures.
* Consider a request from the school board for the approval of two categorical transfers: $253,854 from the Administration/Attendance and Health category to the Transportation category; and $152,168 from the Administration/Attendance and Health category to the Operation and Maintenance category. Superintendent Dr. Amy Blake-Lewis indicated the funds will be used to purchase two new school buses and upgrade the school surveillance systems and classroom door locks as part of the safety measures for students and staff.
*Hear a presentation about a draft energy plan. The county partnered with George Mason University (GMU) to develop the plan.
*Consider meeting in closed session to discuss appointees to the Parks and Recreation Board, Patrick & Henry Community College Board, and Piedmont Regional Community Services Board; pending legal matters; the acquisition/disposal of real estate and as-yet unannounced industries.
At its 6 p.m. meeting, the board will:
*Present the Community Connected Citizen Award, to better recognize everyday contributions.
*Lisa Hughes, resident engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation, will discuss general highway matters.
