During the Oct. 7 meeting of the Bay County Board of County Commissioners, resident Robert Lavery of 1743 Oakcrest Drive in Sandhills urged the board to address what he described as a decline in Bay County Emergency Services following multiple station closures.

Lavery said two of the county’s four ALS (advanced life support) fire stations have been closed at times, naming the Sandhills station as closed “for nearly a month” and saying Bear Creek had closed intermittently. "These ALS stations protect our outlining communities and when closed, put lives at risk," he said. Lavery described a recent incident in which he said a 3‑year‑old was fatally run over while playing on a hunting lease in Youngstown and that medical intervention did not arrive until nearly 15 minutes because the nearby station was closed; he did not assert a causal finding but asked whether the outcome could have been different if a station had been open. "Only God knows, but that child deserved to be given every best possible chance of survival," Lavery said.

Lavery criticized department management and said morale has declined since the current chief was hired. He said staffing losses have been significant and called for new leadership and accountability: "Bay County Emergency Services will continue to struggle until current leadership is replaced." He also said he supports the board's previous decision to reject an MSTU budget increase for chiefs and asked the commissioners to restore accountability and refocus spending.

No formal action was taken by the board on these public comments during the meeting. County staff earlier in the meeting noted hiring efforts and that about 71 positions had been added to the department; a commissioner thanked frontline staff for their service and acknowledged continuing hiring challenges.

The speaker requested decisive action from the board; commissioners acknowledged the comments but did not make staffing or leadership motions during the session.