The St. Clair Shores City Council on Oct. 20 approved multiple procurement actions including the purchase of a new ambulance, an emergency repair of a failed storm-discharge pipe and seawall at the Lock Street boat ramp, and the replacement of the golf-course parking lot.

The most detailed discussion centered on the ambulance purchase. Michael Haddad, representing the fire department, told the council that ambulance build times have stretched to two to three years and that the city had a 2023 bid in the factory queue. The vendor agreed to honor the 2023 pricing and a previously offered $20,000 discount. Council approved awarding the purchase to McQueen (dealer for Braun ambulances) in a motion moved by Councilmember Rusey and supported by Councilmember Rebello; the motion carried with all council members voting yes. The motion as read on the record listed the purchase amount as approximately $370,002.52. Haddad said the department will budget separately for the stretcher/cot and loader system and expects the truck to enter service in the next procurement cycle.

Separately, staff described an emergency repair need at Lock Street near the boat ramp after crews uncovered a disintegrated pipe and resulting sinkhole. Staff said chlorine from a former pool discharge likely accelerated pipe decay and that the city has new EGLE restrictions on pool discharge. The approved emergency work will Cofferdam the area, install a new 30-inch pipe through the seawall, cap the outlet and put a temporary walkway in place; Fishbeck will complete final design and engineering for the reconnection work and that later, the second-phase work will be competitively bid. Council approved the emergency repair on a motion moved by Councilmember Rusey and supported by Councilmember Burgess.

The council also awarded replacement of the golf-course parking lot to Best Asphalt for $685,005.12 plus a 10 percent contingency for a project total of $754,563.20. Councilmember Karen moved the award, supported by Councilmember Burgess; the motion passed 5-1. Councilmember Russi recorded the sole dissent and raised procedural objections: she said the project was not included in the current budget, that she learned about the item only when the meeting packet arrived on Friday, and that recurring “no big contract extension” procedures have made budget planning difficult. Other council members and staff said the work used unit prices from a recent Civic Arena contract bid (Best was the low bidder on related work) and that the project had engineering done in 2022; supporters said acting now captured favorable pricing and minimized future cost risk.

City finance and administration staff and the mayor said the ambulance purchase will be carried into the next fiscal year’s motor pool budget and that the previously approved ambulance order will be carried forward to avoid overlapping shortfalls. The pump-station repair was presented as an emergency purchase to avoid a longer shutdown of the boat ramp and to protect public safety and park access.

Votes at a glance: Ambulance purchase (award to McQueen) — approved (mover: Councilmember Rusey; seconder: Councilmember Rebello; vote: unanimous); Lock Street pump-station/seawall emergency repair — approved (mover: Councilmember Rusey; seconder: Councilmember Burgess; vote: unanimous); Golf-course parking lot replacement (award to Best Asphalt) — approved (mover: Councilmember Karen; seconder: Councilmember Burgess; vote: 5-1).

Procurement details and next steps: the ambulance vendor said factory (Braun) warranties will remain in place; Fishbeck will deliver engineering plans for the Lock St. reconnection work; Best Asphalt is scheduled to proceed this season and to coordinate staging to limit disruption to the restaurant and banquet uses at the golf facility.

Councilmembers indicated staff will return with carryover and budget adjustments as needed.