Blues & Brews Art Festival medical agreement approved by fire district board

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

A $1,575 medical staffing agreement for two personnel and a utility terrain vehicle was recently approved for the Blues & Brews Art Festival in Apache Junction.

The Superstition Fire and Medical District board of directors on Feb. 18 voted 3-0 to approve a consent agenda that included a joint agreement between AM Events & Entertainment and the district valid for the March 14 scheduled event. Board members Jeff Cross and Jason Moeller were absent.

The Blues & Brew Art Festival contract is a paid-for-service agreement that allows SFMD to recover all costs for apparatus, fire and medical services used during the event, Assistant Chief Richard Mooney wrote in a memo to the board.

SFMD will have one emergency medical technician basic provider and one paramedic advanced provider to serve as medical aid services and staff a medical aid station 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at the event at Flat Iron Park, 100 N. Apache Trail, it states in the agreement.

The $1,575 is based on actual hours worked, plus one hour for preparation and travel to the event, and half an hour for the crew to return to the SFMD Training Center. Personnel and UTV costs are:

• Certified paramedic, $85 per hour for a total of $637.50
• Certified EMT, $75 per hour for a total of $562.50
• UTV apparatus cost, $50 per hour for a total of $375

The district, which is primarily funded by property taxes, provides fire suppression, fire prevention, wildland protection, advanced life support, rescue, extrication and medical transportation services out of five fire stations in Apache Junction and Gold Canyon.

SFMD board meetings are generally held at 5:30 p.m. the third Wednesday of the month at the SFMD Administrative Office, 565 N. Idaho Road in Apache Junction. Agendas are at https://sfmd.az.gov/.

Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines, https://www.yourvalley.net/civility-checklist/.

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley

rdyer@iniusa.org

Meet Richard
Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.  

Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. 

Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.

Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.

Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.