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Lifeguard Announces Suit Against County 5, Requests Injunction to Halt County Negotiations

"Let the hell fly where it may," Commissioner Ron Williams

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – On April 21, 2016, Lifeguard Ambulance, Columbia County's 911 ambulance provider, appealed the Columbia County 5's decision to negotiate a contract with Century Ambulance. At that time, 34 year veteran Commissioner Ronald Williams told The 5, "Let the hell fly where it may." It's flying. At 6:12 pm last night, Lifeguard officially released a statement from its president, Brett Jovanovich, announcing its lawsuit and request for an injunction against the County 5.

During the April 21 County 5 meeting, and before The 5 voted to reject Lifeguard's appeal, Commissioner Ronald Williams asked County Attorney Joel Foreman, "Do you feel comfortable that you could defend this board on any decision they make?"

County Attorney Foreman followed up, "On any decision you make? ... There are technical deficiencies with what Century submitted... You could run into a trial judge that says, 'This just seems too unfair.'"


Com Ronald Williams   (file)

A short while later, Commissioner Williams, ignoring the words of Mr. Foreman, announced, "Let the hell fly where it may."

Lifeguard's appeal was rejected by the County 5 on a 4-1 vote. Commissioner Rusty DePratter voted against.

On May 2 at 4:58 pm Lifeguard filed suit against Columbia County.

Yesterday, at 6:12 pm, Lifeguard president, Brett Javanovich, released his official statement:

After thoughtful consideration and research, Lifeguard Ambulance Service has moved forward and has filed a petition to overturn Columbia County’s rejection of our bid protest and is seeking an injunction to prevent the County from negotiating a contract until after the court makes its decision.

The petition was filed Monday May 2 with the Third Judicial Circuit Court for Columbia County.

This is quite an unusual move on our part, but the evidence of a failed process is very compelling.  Based on the factual evidence and transcripts from the Commission meeting, we anticipate that the court will find the proposal of Century to be technically deficient, seriously flawed, and insufficient to meet the County’s own written policies and procedures. Lifeguard’s proposal, on the other hand, meets every County requirement, and continues to operate in the best interests of the citizens of Columbia County.

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