Brewster County and Alpine agree to keep working with EMS Task Force after ESD discussion

Brewster County and the City of Alpine on March 17 agreed to continue collaborating with an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Task Force that presented recommendations for funding and operating EMS in north Brewster County.

Mayor Katherine Eves of Alpine moved that the city council hear the task force’s recommendations; the motion carried on a 6-0 vote. The joint meeting included a presentation by task force members Mark Rows and Jessica Velasco summarizing the group’s findings, outcomes and recommendations. The presentation in the transcript is described as a summary; specific recommendation text was not transcribed.

During public comment, resident Oscar Cobos urged officials to consider creating an Emergency Services District (ESD) for Brewster County and said low voter turnout is a concern that would require efforts to encourage residents to vote on any future ballot measure. Allen Hailey, identified in the transcript as an EMS Task Force member and a Marathon resident, told the bodies that an ESD is necessary and stated that, in his account, 100% of local fire personnel support working in tandem with an ESD. That level of support was presented as Hailey’s report and was not independently verified in the record.

City Councilor Rick Stephens moved that the City of Alpine continue working with Brewster County and the EMS Task Force; Councilor Lucy Escovedo seconded, and the motion passed 6-0. On the county side, Commissioner Ruben Ortega moved that Brewster County continue collaborating with the city and the EMS Task Force; Commissioner Sara Allen Colando seconded, and the county commissioners approved the motion 5-0. The transcript records these procedural votes but does not show any formal action to create an ESD or to place a tax or bond measure on a ballot.

The joint meetings closed with routine adjournment motions: the county meeting was adjourned after a motion by County Judge Greg P. Henington (second not specified in the transcript), and the city meeting adjourned on a 6-0 vote after Mayor Eves’ motion. No additional follow-up dates or timelines for implementing the task force recommendations were recorded in the transcript.

Next steps recorded in the meeting minutes are limited to the agreed continuation of intergovernmental work with the EMS Task Force; the transcript does not record a timetable, detailed funding plan, or a referendum schedule for formation of an ESD.