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Council approves ambulance cots and holsters, accepts state ambulance aid
Summary
Virginia City approved purchases of leather radio holsters and powered ambulance cots and authorized acceptance of a Minnesota Department of Health supplemental ambulance payment that will help cover cot costs.
Virginia City councilors approved multiple purchases for the city’s fire and emergency medical services on July 28, the council said, including new leather holsters for recently purchased radios and five powered ambulance cots.
Assistant Chief (fire) explained the holsters are necessary because the department’s new radios are incompatible with the existing leather holders, and that plastic clips supplied with the radios make carrying them with turnout gear difficult. “With the purchase of our new radios, our current leather holsters do not fit our radios… The leather holster also does provide added protection because as we're going through buildings or car crashes the radios get banged around,” the assistant chief said. Council approved the holster purchase by voice vote.
On the cots, the assistant chief told council members the department will receive $154,053.81 from state ambulance‑aid toward the purchase and that a modest local contribution will cover the remainder of the quoted $165,731.30. “Manufacturers recommend cycling cots out at 10 years,” the assistant chief said, noting the department’s oldest cot is a 2010 model and parts are increasingly hard to source.
Councilor Johnson emphasized the equipment’s role in employee safety, saying the powered cots were “not a luxury” but a necessity to protect staff and patients; he said he would fully support the purchase. The council moved and approved the cot purchase, and then approved acceptance of the state supplemental payment that helps bridge the Medicaid reimbursement gap.
The motions were taken under the consent/purchase agenda; councilors who raised concerns sought assurances about cash‑flow timing for grant disbursements and vendor coordination to avoid invoice timing gaps. Staff said they will work with vendors and monitor grant releases to minimize any short‑term cash‑flow impacts. The assistant chief said the next state release of ambulance aid is expected in September.
