Greene County discusses new ambulances, authorizes sale of an old unit and considers transfer to sheriff's office

Greene County ambulance staff reported three new ambulance units are now in the county fleet, with one fully in service, and commissioners approved advertising an older unit for sale with a fair-market reserve to be set by county staff.

During the operational update, the ambulance director reported the service had experienced an increase in call volume — “we had 4,447 calls, which is up about 10%,” the director said — and confirmed one of three newly acquired trucks (referred to in the transcript as “e2”) is in service while an older unit has about 300,000 miles and has not had an engine replacement. The director said a newer motor had been installed previously and had accumulated roughly 85,000 miles in two years.

Commissioners discussed options for disposing of older vehicles. The board voted to let Doug handle advertising an older ambulance for sale, take bids and establish a fair-market reserve price (with Doug to consult others such as Walter on valuation). The chair called for bids and the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

Commissioners also discussed transferring a different ambulance (referred to in the transcript as truck 2986 or “26”) to the sheriff’s department. The sheriff’s office indicated interest in using that vehicle as a quasi-mobile command/ERT vehicle and in trade would make available proceeds from selling a 2017 Expedition. A motion to transfer the ambulance to the sheriff’s department in exchange for the proceeds from the sheriff’s sale was discussed and placed on the table in the meeting transcript; the record does not show a completed roll-call tally or explicit final vote on that transfer.

Other operational items included discussion of storage and readiness of spare units, handicap-door hardware and final interior work at the service’s new facility, and plans to hold an open house around the March meeting date. The chair and commissioners discussed timing, advertising and whether to hold the March 18 meeting at the new facility to coincide with the open house.

No statutes, ordinances or grant citations were referenced in the transcript concerning the vehicle dispositions; commissioners limited their actions to motions about advertising, valuation and proposed transfer.