Council reviews plan to convert ambulance to rescue vehicle; approves small increase on bunker-gear order

The fire department presented a proposal at the July 23 council meeting to convert a town-owned ambulance into a multiuse rescue vehicle for water rescue, missing-person searches, drone operations and rehabilitation for personnel. The vehicle conversion would remove or cover markings identifying it as an ambulance and retrofit interior storage and drying racks; the department said it expects no additional equipment cost because existing compartments will be repurposed.

Fire department staff cautioned that the vehicle cannot legally look like an ambulance once converted, meaning exterior decals and the Star of Life must be removed or covered. The department has solicited wrap/strip quotes and said it will seek additional estimates and consider lower-cost options such as wrapping over existing markings if legally permissible.

Separately, the council approved a $430 increase in the purchase order for five sets of bunker gear, moving the order total from $16,500 to $16,930 after sizing delays caused the price to rise. A motion to pay the increase was seconded and recorded as adopted by the council.

Council and staff also discussed practical funding ideas, including whether sponsorship or naming opportunities could help offset equipment or wrap costs; council members noted that adopting any sponsorship program would require a formal ordinance or council action before being implemented on emergency vehicles.

The fire chief asked the council to consider increasing the department credit-card single-card limit to $3,000 (and to apply the same increase to the street/sanitation card). Councilmembers asked staff to draft a clear check-in/check-out policy for departmental cards and to review how surrounding municipalities manage after-hours emergency purchases and vendor accounts.

Why it matters: council members said the conversion would expand local rescue capacity — including being usable as a rehabilitative and climate-controlled support vehicle — while the bunker-gear purchase addresses an immediate safety equipment need. The conversion requires compliance with state/local rules about ambulance markings and may require additional procurement steps for external wrapping or stripping work.

Next steps: fire staff will gather additional wrap/strip quotes, confirm legal limits on exterior coverings, and return with refined cost estimates. The clerk/treasurer and council will draft or research the sponsorship/ordinance questions and a credit-card custody policy.