Surry County approves purchase of demonstration ambulance; budget amendment to follow

The Surry County Board of Commissioners voted Nov. 3 to purchase a stock/demonstration ambulance for Surry County Emergency Medical Services and directed staff to return with a budget amendment at a future meeting.

Emergency Services Director Eric Southern told commissioners the county has been "reeling" with increased maintenance costs on older ambulances and long manufacturer lead times — previously estimated at roughly 18 months to two years — and that the county located a demonstration ambulance with about 1,500 miles on it that is available for purchase. "It comes just like a new vehicle," Southern said during his presentation.

Commissioners asked how many miles were on the vehicle and whether it remained under warranty; Southern said the demonstration unit had roughly 1,500 miles and was still fully warranted. Southern also said the county had taken delivery earlier this year of a similar stock ambulance that entered service about two weeks before this meeting and that the county typically had aimed to buy one new unit and perform two remounts as part of fleet rotation.

A motion to approve the purchase was made and seconded (second recorded as Commissioner Bill Goins). The board carried the motion by voice vote. Southern said the purchase will require a budget amendment to appropriate funds and that the amendment would be presented at the next commissioners' meeting.

The ambulance being purchased is located through Atlantic Emergency Vehicles' Charlotte office and was described as a demonstration/stock unit. No contract or dollar amount was stated on the record during the discussion; commissioners asked about price but that figure was not provided in the public discussion and will be reflected in the forthcoming budget amendment.