The county will be getting two new ambulances next year after the Board of Commissioners accepted a bid Friday from Osage Industries of Linn, Mo., totaling $279,550.
The board opened the bids at its regular meeting April 15 and the bids were reviewed by Sheriff Sandy Horton and Joey Adams, director of the Crawford County Ambulance Service. Horton and Adams reviewed the bids and presented their recommendation to the board on Friday.
The bids “were just a little bit below what we anticipated, weren't they?” Commissioner Bob Kmiec said.
A total of three companies submitted bids. One of the companies did not meet the specifications set forth by the county and the bid was not considered, Horton said.
Osage Industries bid for one, two-wheel drive ambulance and one, four-wheel drive ambulance. Both will be based on 2009 Chevrolet C-4500, medium-duty truck chassis. The two-wheel drive ambulance will cost $135,397. The county will pay $144,153 for the four-wheel drive ambulance.
This will be the first time the county has purchased a four-wheel drive ambulance for its fleet, Horton said.
“I really think this is a milestone for the ambulance service,” Horton said. “It's not like we're going to take (the four-wheel drive ambulance) on long transfers, but it's nice to have it in the fleet.”
The new ambulances will not be delivered to the county until next year and the purchase of the ambulances will be included in next year's budget. By that time, the county will have paid off the last remaining note it carries on an existing ambulance. That will free up some $24,000 per year that is currently earmarked to service that debt to be used to pay off the new ambulances.
The purchase of two new ambulances also will allow the county to set up an equipment rotation schedule, replacing just one or two units at a time as they age.
“It's good to get on to the rotation, too,” Commissioner Ralph McGeorge said. “Keep quality equipment in the fleet.”
In other business, the board:
• Opened bids for a new truck delegated to the Ambulance Service for the use of director Adams to replace the current Ford Expedition he drives on duty. The Expedition would then be reassigned for use by shift coordinators and for hauling supplies, Horton said. He was hoping to get a new truck that could haul the county's Mass Casualty trailer, which carries a variety of equipment used in case of disasters.
Bids were received from Molle Automotive in Pittsburg for $25,486.38 and from Pittsburg Ford for $24,084.
A bid was also received from the Kansas Highway Patrol PARTNERS program, which helps state, county and local entities buy equipment and supplies at a reduced cost via federal government purchasing channels. The PARTNERS bid came in for $21,279.69, Horton said.
If the county decided to go with the PARTNERS program bid, the truck would have to be paid for by May 5, Horton said. The commissioners deferred action on the bids until Friday.
• Approved an addendum, renewing the agreement for the housing of prisoners from Johnson County in the Crawford County Jail. After reviewing the agreement, County Counselor Jim Emerson said he approved of the agreement and recommended its adoption.
The county currently receives $40 per day per inmate for housing prisoners. The county also provides medical and dental services as needed to inmates, which is paid for by Johnson County.
“We could try to charge more, but that's the going rate,” Horton said. “It's still bringing in more than $250,000 per year.
“I think if we raised (the rate), we'd be out of the business. Believe it not, there's a market for it.”
• Set and approved minimum bids for the Sheriff's Property Sale, scheduled for today (Wednesday) at 1 p.m.
The next regular meeting of the Crawford County Board of Commissioners is scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. The Board's regular Tuesday meeting was cancelled this week to allow commissioners to attend the District Kansas Department of Transportation regional meeting in Chanute.