By Andrew Harp
The Evening News and the Tribune
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — The Utica Township Fire District Board voted Wednesday night to terminate the contract with the Utica Township Volunteer Fire Department, which does business as New Chapel Fire and EMS.
As a result, according to a news release on Thursday, New Chapel EMS will now no longer provide emergency medical service in Clark County effective Sept. 1.
The release states that the company will transition “to alternative office and operations spaces within Clark County and restructuring and rebranding into a new, streamlined entity in the coming months.”
The fire board decision was reached after more than an hour of discussion with board members and Utica Fire Chief and New Chapel CEO Matt Owen at a public meeting Wednesday night in Utica.
A previous meeting was held at the same location on July 24 in which Owen provided an update on the status of fire coverage in the area. He said that due to funding, Utica does not have firefighters on call 24/7 and the service is instead provided by New Chapel EMS employees.
Since then, the Clark County Commissioners appointed two new members to the fire district board, Joe Jarles and Randy Leverett, who were elected president and vice president, respectively, at the Wednesday night meeting. They serve along with Kelly Khuri.
Established in 2006, the Utica Fire District allows taxes to be levied for the fire department.
Jarles asked both Owen and New Chapel’s lawyer and spokesperson Coy Travis the current whereabouts and status of a few different fire vehicles that he believes were previously owned by the fire board and were transferred or sold to another outside entity, with no record of where the vehicles or money are.
He said after looking at available meeting minutes and records that there were at least four of these instances that have occurred in the past handful of years.
“It’s not personal,” Jarles said about his questioning.
Travis said that New Chapel would make a list of all the assets that the board had questions with and find out what happened to them to the best of their ability.
Former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel, who is facing 31 felony charges, is the former CEO of New Chapel. He is accused of stealing money from the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association, which does business as New Chapel EMS.
Noel has been accused of, among other crimes, layering, which is an attempt to make the process of tracking money and assets through each layer of a business more difficult. He is also accused of stealing around $700,000 through the Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association credit card.
The board also voted to issue a 30-day notice for New Chapel to vacate the two fire stations, both of which the board delegates, including the company’s headquarters on Utica Pike. It will also send a letter to New Chapel asking the company to stop using the name " Utica Fire Department " and similar names.
Travis said that the contract has a facility use agreement that ends Oct. 30, 2024, meaning they should have until then to vacate. Jarles argued that they had the right to order New Chapel to vacate their stations considering the alleged criminal activity of Noel.
Travis said on Thursday that they intend on working to move out within 30 days, although he said it would be difficult, but will be communicating with the board throughout the process in case there are issues.
On July 31, an agreement was approved by Jeffersonville Public Works and Safety in which the Jeffersonville Fire Department would provide automatic aid for structure fires and other emergencies to Utica and Utica Township. JFD will now be the sole fire protection provider for the area.
JFD leadership said after the agreement was approved that they found the department would be able to sufficiently cover Utica and Utica Township without sacrificing service to Jeffersonville.
Owen presented at the July 24 meeting that there were a total of five active fire alarms in 2024. He also said that in the past five years, they have had to ask for mutual aid twice from outlying departments.
“The people of Utica were placed in a very dangerous situation. The thought of not having fire protection is frightening. Jeffersonville is happy to help our neighbor,” Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore said in a text message.
Jarles said that they’re hoping the long-term solution for fire protection will be the establishment of a fire territory with Jeffersonville. A study was issued by the City of Jeffersonville in May to determine the viability of such a territory.
Travis said that New Chapel is still working on what the future will be for the company, but said they will be restructuring by consolidating it into a single entity with a different name. He said operationally, they will be looking into convalescence care but said EMS services could be a possibility again in the future if the opportunity presents itself and if it aligns with their mission and structure.
(c)2024 The Evening News and The Tribune (Jeffersonville, Ind.)
Visit The Evening News and The Tribune (Jeffersonville, Ind.) at newsandtribune.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.