NEW BERLIN – The towns of Columbus and New Berlin will follow through with creating a separate ambulance district and service after the Village of New Berlin voted to reject the proposal.

The Unadilla Valley Ambulance Corps will provide patient care and transportation to both towns and will be operated by a private not-for-profit company governed by a board of directors.

According to board President George Coates, the purpose of instituting a new service is to “take the politics” out of patient care and to provide a better understanding of the tax base and more oversight on actual costs to the taxpayer.

Coates went on to say that the new ambulance district would continue to contract with the Sherburne and CMT ambulance services until the district has enough money to purchase its own rig and hire a staff. He stated that it would be an extensive project to organize, although “things are looking good” despite the fact that the board is still in the negotiating stage.

“The project is in the infancy stage right now,” said board treasurer Brian Burton. “There are still many steps before we have it up and running.”