Senator Harckham Gains State Funding for North Salem Ambulance Corps

New York State Senator Pete Harckham announced yesterday $51,175 in state grant funding has been awarded to the North Salem Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NSVAC) for the purchase of a new emergency response vehicle.

“The North Salem Volunteer Ambulance Corps answers more than 500 calls a year, from the Croton River to the Connecticut border, which requires emergency vehicles that can be depended upon at a moment’s notice,” said Harckham. “I am pleased to be able to help secure funding that will serve the residents in this capacity while also alleviating some of the financial burden on the town’s taxpayers.”

Right now, NSVAC has two box configuration ambulance vehicles stationed at its headquarters off Hardscrabble Road, near I-684. The Town of North Salem, which measures 29-square miles, is served by another, smaller emergency response vehicle, or “fly car,” that is usually stationed on the eastern side of the town.

The awarded grant funding, which Harckham secured within the State and Municipal Facilities Program (SAM), will pay for the purchase of a brand new Chevy Tahoe that will be outfitted with emergency and medical equipment. The old “fly car,” which has 364,000 miles on it, will be retired.

“We are extremely grateful to Senator Pete Harckham for the grant he obtained for our North Salem Ambulance Volunteer Corps,” said Town of North Salem Supervisor Warren J. Lucas. “Our volunteers work tirelessly for the Town, and this grant will provide extra equipment that they need to better support our community.”

Supervisor Lucas added that the cost of the new emergency vehicle represents almost one percent of the Town’s total annual budget. The Town of North Salem does not have an ambulance district, which would receive its support straight from the tax levy. Instead, the Town supports NSVAC with about $100,000 of annual funding.

“The new emergency response vehicle will be a great help to our community,” said Kurt Guldan, NSVAC president since 1996. “We will be able to reduce our response times, and that definitely will benefit residents, especially when minutes matter the most.”

In the past year, Harckham has secured SAM funding for numerous community projects and municipal initiatives around the 40th Senate District, including ballfield renovations at Millwood Recreation Park in the Town of New Castle, a new police car and stop signs in Somers and trail improvements in Peekskill’s Fort Hill Park—saving district taxpayers $6 million in spending. Two months ago, Harckham announced $170,000 in state grant funding has been awarded to the Town of North Salem to complete two improvement projects—one at Front Street in Croton Falls and another in the Candlewood Lake Park District.

 State Senator Harckham represents New York's 40th District, which includes the towns of Beekman, Pawling and the village of Pawling in Dutchess County; the towns of Carmel, Patterson and Southeast, and the village of Brewster in Putnam County; and the city of Peekskill, the towns of Cortlandt, Lewisboro, Mount Pleasant, New Castle, North Salem, Pound Ridge, Somers and Yorktown, the town/village of Mount Kisco, and the villages of Briarcliff Manor, Buchanan, Croton-on-Hudson, Pleasantville and Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County. 

 

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Submitted by Somers, NY

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