HADLEY — A new two-year contract with a private ambulance service, with an option for a third year, will mean emergency medical care at the Advanced Life Support level for Hadley residents will continue to be provided by Action EMS Ambulance.

While Hadley officials and Fire Chief Michael Spanknebel continue to discuss the possible build out of a town-run Advanced Life Support system that would eventually replace Action, the Select Board on June 4 agreed to sign the contract, subject to review by a town attorney.

The arrangement, in which Action furnishes “all labor, materials and equipment so as to supply first line emergency ambulance,” requires the town to pay $150,000 to Action each year, a figure that is reduced from the $180,000 the town is paying this year.

Action began serving Hadley on June 29, 2018, replacing the Amherst Fire Department as the primary responder for medical incidents in town.

Since October 2023, the Fire Department has run its own Basic Life Support ambulance, known as Hadley A1, that has served as a backup to the Action EMS ambulance. This, along with a second town-owned ambulance known as Hadley A2, have been seen as part of the transition to a town-run system, though the exorbitant start-up costs, including hiring staff, have prompted the Select Board to delay this implementation.

The contract, though, corresponds with a planned phase-in of the town’s Advanced Life Support ambulances, and an application to the state to be licensed to that level.

Spanknebel told the Select Board that though paying $180,000 to Action last year, the town received a $142,000 rebate, a provision written into the contract when Action hits certain revenue milestones from when it bills patients.

Spanknebel said he expects a full $180,000 rebate back this year due to Action being “extremely busy.” “I don’t foresee them having an issue” meeting that milestone, Spanknebel said.

Select Board member Molly Keegan, who is on the Ambulance Oversight Committee, said Action is benefiting from being moved up the “run card” for incidents in Amherst.

“They’re finally seeing some billable revenue from that, which is helpful and hopefully that will continue,” Keegan said.

A major change in the contract is to eliminate the performance bond, which Spanknebel said hasn’t been effective. That removal came after discussions with insurance experts and Action’s insurance company.

Michael Woronka, president and CEO of Action, told the oversight committee at a recent meeting that the biggest trend for the past year has been more responses into Amherst and the University of Massachusetts, and that car accidents have generally been less serious since ongoing construction on Route 9, the town’s most heavily traveled road, has slowed people down.

But a lot of incidents are happening at the EconoLodge, with two responses a day there on many occasions, due to Craig’s Doors operating a homeless shelter from that site. Action made 781 transports since last July 1.

Response times are a bit elevated now that Action ambulance is mostly stored in the North Hadley fire station on River Drive, rather than at the main safety complex on East Street. But Spanknebel said this has also proven beneficial as it is easier to get to Greenleaves Drive and the senior housing developments.

The main challenge in response times remains the Hockanum section of Hadley due to its distance from North Hadley, he said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.