The Piedmont City Council, on Tuesday, made sure that city residents can continue to rest easy, knowing they will continue to be covered for emergency helicopter flights at no cost out-of-pocket.

City officials voted unanimously to renew the yearly contract with Air Evac to provide the service at a cost of $17,301 to the city, which will be paid in quarterly payments of $4,325.

“It’s a great service and it’s a service I think we need to continue to provide,” said Mayor Bill Baker.

Air Evac representative Tammy Meeks said the plan will cover Piedmont residents for air transport for any emergency that originates inside Calhoun County. Even residents without insurance will be covered under plan.

For an additional $35 per household per year, residents may choose to upgrade their coverage to include flights made from any of the 32 states in which Air Evac operates.

According to Meeks, Air Evac made 37 flights from Calhoun County in 2016, with 7 originating out of Piedmont. She added that without the coverage provided by Air Evac, a residents would have otherwise paid over $40,000 for a single flight.

Last year, Piedmont became the first city in Calhoun County to provide this service.

In other business, the council reappointed Ron Allen as city attorney, Richard Couch as public defender, and Jake Mathews as city prosecutor for city municipal court.

Sandy Ford and Kip McFry were reappointed to the Piedmont Health Care Board, while Brent Morrison was appointed to the vacant airport authority position.

Bills for payment were approved in the amount of $163080.26.