Gulf Shores, Ala. – (OBA) – Matt Palamara, a Gulf Shores seasonal lifeguard, was helping out with a fish fry at Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church one Friday in March when an emergency presented itself.

“He’s been a lifeguard for four or five years here and he’s heavily involved and does a lot of good things on our beach and has for a while,” Fire Chief Mark Sealy said. “Obviously, from the audience, he’s heavily involved with the Boy Scouts so they came to support him. And, he’s heavily involved with the Catholic Church at Our Lady of the Gulf. Back on March 15 of this year, he was over there doing work and I think they were having a fish fry and had a person fall and injured themselves severely and had severe bleeding.”

By the time emergency crews arrived, Palamara had already started treatment and the arriving firefighters and medics said his action likely saved the person’s life. He was nominated for a lifesaving award by one of the members who responded.

“Matt quickly jumped into action and applied pressure to the wound using towels and called 911,” the nomination letter read. “The bleeding was still severe and uncontrolled after applying pressure, so Matt placed a tourniquet made from a belt about two inches above the laceration. The patient’s bleeding had almost subsided when Engine One arrived at scene.”

Palamara was given the award at the regular Gulf Shores City Council on April 8.

“They went on to say that the patient could have easily bled out and lost his life that night had Matt not been there with his quick thinking in life-saving skills,” Sealy said. “So, right place, right time and you took action instead of turning the other way like a lot of people would do. We’re really proud of you.”

During the meeting, the council also:

• Approved expense vouchers for $2.9 million including $212,532 spent on vehicles and equipment, $1.1 million for capital improvement projects including the school and work on State Route 59, $1.1 million for beach renourishment project and bi-weekly operating expenses of $502,986.

• Approved a public assembly request for the NCAA Women’s Sand Volleyball National Championships on May 2-5 at the public beach in Gulf Shores. The tournament first came to Gulf Shores in 2016 and will move to California for two years following the 2024 event.

• Granted a 90-day extension on phase one of the Gulf Shores Landfill’s planned closing. The company had one year to complete phase one of five to closing the landfill and that year ends on March 31. The company has a total of five years to finish closing down the facility.

• Authorized hiring Find Great People and Strategic Governmental Resources for $75,000 to find a Human Resources Director, a City Engineer and a Planning and Zoning Manager.

• Reappointed Municipal Judge Frank Hollon to a term through April 16, 2024, and City Prosecutor Ken Raines to a term through April 23, 2026. Hollon is paid $61,129 and Raines $40,806 annually.

• Awarded a contract for $48,650 to VitalExam for physicals for the fire department.

• Authorized a city credit card for the new police department position of training officer.

• Declared several items as surplus and authorized the sale of the items including three SUVs and a knuckle boom truck.