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EDGEWOOD 鈥� Over 100 people 鈥� including several Santa Fe County firefighters 鈥� filled the Edgewood Town Hall Commission Chambers on Tuesday. Some listened intently while others voiced their displeasure over the upcoming split between Edgewood and the Santa Fe County Fire Department.

The meeting to address the issue came days after the town announced last week that on June 30 it will terminate its contract with the fire department that has provided fire and emergency medical services to Edgewood residents for about 20 years. The contract termination stemmed from a legal dispute over payments by Edgewood to the county for fire and EMS services.

鈥淚 enjoy the security of knowing that something is there that I can count on and, right now, that security has been ripped out from underneath me,鈥� Amanda Jasper, one of Edgewood鈥檚 6,000 residents, said.

Resident Jean DeMarte said she is so upset about the end of the agreement that she is looking into starting a petition to make Edgewood an unincorporated community so they can continue using the fire department鈥檚 services.

That鈥檚 going to be the only way 鈥渨e can get out of the damage that has been done by the commissioners,鈥� DeMarte told residents as they waited in the chambers Tuesday night while commissioners met in a closed-door session.

Upon returning to the chambers, the commissioners said they are considering other options to replace the fire and emergency medical services the town will be losing. Those options, they said, include accepting a bid from Rural Metro Fire 鈥� a private fire protection service 鈥� and contracting with an air ambulance service.

Commissioner Ken Brennan said the air ambulance service would be available to residents at no charge.

鈥淚t is a service the town will be purchasing,鈥� Brennan said at the meeting. 鈥淚f anybody knows what the cost of a Flight for Life can cost you on a single shot 鈥︹��

鈥淧ay EMS. It costs less,鈥� a resident yelled out.

A commissioner told them they were speaking out of turn.

鈥淵ou idiots,鈥� the resident replied.

Brennan later said the commission has also reached out to fire departments in Rio Communities and nearby Valencia and Torrance counties.

During Wednesday morning鈥檚 Torrance County Commission meeting, Chairman Ryan Schwebach said while the county is willing to talk with Edgewood officials about their upcoming need for fire and emergency medical services, 鈥渨e will not overextend ourselves.鈥�

鈥淭he reality is, Torrance County is more married to Edgewood in an EMS sense than Santa Fe County is,鈥� Schwebach said. 鈥淪o, what does that look like? I don鈥檛 know. A year down the road, two years down the road, five years down the road, there may be a collaborative effort (where) we can 鈥� help. But to be clear, at this point, we are not equipped. We will not be equipped to take over services by June 30.鈥�

Rariden said 鈥渢here鈥檚 still a possibility of some assistance, but we don鈥檛 know what that looks like.鈥�

On Wednesday afternoon, Rariden said the town is considering all options. He added, 鈥淲e have not completely ruled out dealing with Santa Fe County.鈥�

Whatever the town decides, it won鈥檛 replace what it has now, resident Cheryl Huppertz said. 

鈥淲e need the fire department,鈥� she said.

Since 2005, the Santa Fe County Fire Department has provided 24/7 fire and emergency medical services to Edgewood and over 80% of the calls in the area are within the town limits, according to SFCFD. In exchange for their services, the town agreed to pay county impact fees it collected on development 鈥渁nd the equivalent of the county fire protection excise tax imposed in the unincorporated area of the county,鈥� a fire department news release states.

Rariden said there were different interpretations in the joint powers agreement as to what the amount was to pay and 鈥淚 believe the prior town administration did everything possible to follow guidelines, follow legal procedures and get that interpretation interpreted so that we could pay.鈥�

Former Edgewood commissioner Filandro Anaya said in a statement he read to residents that 鈥渋t is crucial for any municipality to uphold its financial obligations promptly to maintain trust and credibility with both vendors and the community.鈥�

鈥淎llowing accounts to fall behind not only jeopardizes essential services but also creates unnecessary complications that could have been avoided with more prudent management,鈥� he said.

According to a statement Commissioner Stephen Murillo read to residents, 鈥渁ny timing issues in payments reflected staff turnover, reconciliation, and clarification requests documented in the parties鈥� communications 鈥� not a refusal to pay.鈥�

鈥淭he county鈥檚 own administrative services division director acknowledged a misapplication of payment 鈥榬elated to the JPA between the Town of Edgewood, City of Santa Fe, and County for the Santa Fe Regional Emergency Communications Center,鈥� the statement added.

Rariden said in a phone interview on Monday the town had not paid the county for 鈥渁t least two years.鈥� On Tuesday, residents wanted to know why the town decided not to pay. In a phone interview Wednesday, Rariden said 鈥渙ur records indicate we substantially overpaid,鈥� adding that he believed the amount was in the millions.

鈥淭he litigation was ultimately resolved through a settlement in which neither party was required to make a payment, and neither party admitted fault,鈥� according to a town document.

Huppertz said the decision to terminate the contract was made without public input.

鈥淲e just thought they were having a mediation when they agreed to settle their payment 鈥� and we ended up with no Santa Fe County Fire Department supporting us,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why people are so upset, like we had no voice. Nobody asked us.鈥�

The commission will listen to residents when it hosts a workshop followed by a regular meeting starting at 5 p.m. April 14 at the town hall, 171A, State Road 344.

Rariden said commissioners want to hear from everyone 鈥渢hen we鈥檙e going to address these concerns the best we can.鈥�

Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.