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By P. DOUGLAS FILAROSKI; Times Leader Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 11, 1993     Page: 3A QUICK WORDS: PRICE OF GETTING A RIDE
IN THE CITY’S AMBULANCE

WILKES-BARRE — City officials may turn to ambulance patients for extra
revenue, if the council passes a proposal to raise the fee for that city-run
service.
   
The city council on Tuesday discussed the administration’s plan to increase
the ambulance charge from $200 to $225. It also considered eliminating a
cheaper, $125 basic ambulance option.
    The reason for the proposal is to recover more of the ambulance service’s
$900,000 overall cost, said city Administrator Richard Muessig during
Tuesday’s council work session.
   
The council will vote on the measure Thursday.
   
In other business, the council discussed the administration’s
recommendation to hire an engineer to design repair work on Gordon Avenue,
where a stretch of road collapsed this spring.
   
The council will vote Thursday on hiring Borton-Lawson Engineering of
Wilkes-Barre at a cost of $55,000. The firm will conduct public hearings
before and after it designs a repair project, said Tom Lawson of the
engineering company.
   
The riverfront street collapsed this spring when the river flooded. The
high water apparently aggravated a mine subsidence problem in the area.
   
Councilman Eric Redick asked engineers if they are confident they can fix
the problem on Gordon Avenue.
   
“We think we’ve zeroed in on the source of the problem,” said Lawson. He
said the firm tackled a similar problem across the river in Kingston.
   
Muessig estimated the overall cost of the project at $450,000 to $560,000.
   
Also Tuesday, the council reviewed the administration’s recommendation to
contract with a company to install new lighting downtown, in the first phase
of the downtown restoration project.
   
The city has suggested hiring Apollo Group Inc. at a cost of $60,000.
   
Council members also talked about Thursday’s pending vote on the
fee-per-bag trash disposal program. The program would require residents to pay
$1.25 per bag for city trash removal instead of the current $50 annual fee.
   
Councilman Phil Latinski asked Muessig if the city could expand its
recycling program to include glass and plastics so that residents would have
more ways to reduce their conventional trash output. The reduction would help
residents reduce their personal cost under the new fee-per-bag disposal
program.