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WAYNE, W.Va. (WSAZ) - The Wayne County Commission has turned over short-term proposals to fix the county’s ambulance crisis, doing so Thursday evening in response to an open records request filed by WSAZ NewsChannel 3.

The disclosure comes amid the WSAZ Investigation, No Ambulance, which in January sounded the alarm on Wayne County residents calling 911 to learn there was no ambulance available.

WSAZ’s investigation found that ambulances in Wayne County came from volunteer fire departments that are not always staffed. State law showed it is the duty of county commissions to provide emergency ambulance service.

In December, WSAZ asked Wayne County Commission President Jeff Maddox for his solution, when he replied, “there is no immediate resolution to the problems that we’re having right now.”

Within weeks of the story airing, Wayne County commissioners voted to add an EMS levy to the May 14 ballot. A ‘yes’ vote would increase property taxes to provide money for a countywide EMS service that would be staffed around the clock.

Then, in April, commissioners agreed to buy three new ambulances, but neither of those actions will lead to increased ambulance service until next year.

That led WSAZ NewsChannel 3 reporter Curtis Johnson to ask commissioners again, April 8, how they plan to help residents now.

“What do you do until January gets here?” Johnson asked.

“We are considering every option that is available to us to provide service between now and the time that those service,” Maddox replied.

A day later, the county commission put out a request for proposals from for-profit ambulance companies outside Wayne County. It asked how much the providers would charge to help with a short-term fix.

When WSAZ asked to see the proposals April 22, the station was denied access to the documents.

So WSAZ then submitted an open records request, and Thursday evening, the Wayne County Commission turned over two requests and two proposals from two ambulance companies.

Both companies, Patriot EMS of Ironton and Jan-Care of southern West Virginia, offered ambulances with advanced life support.

Patriot EMS’s proposal offered one ambulance at $40,950.09 per month.

Jan-Care came in lower -- on one ambulance at $33,480 per month.

Maddox, during Thursday’s meeting, said the price tag took him by surprise.

“The proposals are, I mean, I hate to say mind-boggling, but man, they are more than they ever dreamed that they would be,” he said.

Despite the initial sticker shock, Maddox says both proposals are under consideration, and that Wayne County plans to pay for the service with money from its opioid settlement.

“Can you go ahead and use those dollars, get those extra ambulances in here, even if it be one ambulance, and get people help?” Johnson asked.

“Yeah, yeah, absolutely,” Maddox replied. “We we could that. That’s an option.”

“How soon can you actually sign the dotted line and get those ambulances in,” Johnson inquired.

“As soon as the three Commissioners make the decision to do that,” Maddox answered.

WSAZ asked Maddox when he believes commission will make that decision. He told Johnson the earliest would be after they find out the fate of the levy on the May 14 ballot.

Maddox says commissioners also have to find a place to house the provider.

Still, Johnson stressed the urgency for residents left waiting and worried.

“Somebody’s going to be calling tonight or tomorrow for an ambulance and be told possibly that no ambulance is available,” Johnson said to Maddox. “What’s your message to those people?”

“Curtis, we cannot bring an ambulance in here right now,” he replied. “We don’t have a place for them. That’s not an immediate thing. With either one of those providers, we’re not going to be able to bring somebody in here right now. You know, that that can set up shop immediately. They have to have a place to call a home base. They have to have a place that they can station themselves, you know, So those are all decisions that we’re working through.”

“That short-term gap is what remains, and that short-term gap means lives today and tomorrow,” Johnson inquired.

“Curtis, again, I don’t know exactly what answer you want me to provide you,” Maddox answered. “We’ve talked about those things many, many times before. Right now we’re doing everything we can to take steps moving forward.”

The Wayne Public Service Levy, if passed, will provide continued support for firefighting, libraries and the county health department, along with new funding for EMS. It would be enough money, commissioners say, to run two, county-owned ambulances around-the-clock.

The levy needs a 60 percent ‘yes’ vote to pass.

Early voting is now underway. The primary election is May 14.