During the Finance Officer’s report portion of the regular meeting of the Vance County Board of Commissioners on Monday night, members debated the proposed purchase of a new Type III 2009 ambulance.
A Type III ambulance refers to a particular design that has a modular body built on a cut-away van chassis. This design combines the capacity of the larger modular body found in a Type I ambulance with the walk-through accessibility of a van, the main characteristic of the Type II ambulance.
The proposed purchase uses the “piggybacking” provision in NC general statutes to mirror the purchase of the same ambulance in Monroe County, Tennessee. This provision allows the waiving of the bidding process with contracts that have already been bid.
Asked for an update by newly installed Chair Dan Brummitt, Fire Chief Danny Wilkerson told members that there are currently eight ambulances in service, with staff levels for four ambulances. He also said that four of the vehicles have over 100,000 miles on them and have problems with issues such as stability.
Commissioner Deborah Brown commented that a diesel engine with 100,000 miles is “just breaking in”. Wilkerson rejoined that items such as the suspension and brakes wear out in addition to the engines. He said that his department had tried refurbishing vehicles years ago, but that they never operated as they should in emergency situations.
Brummitt also expressed concerns about the budget. Brown asked if the county could continue with eight ambulances for another year.
Wilkerson told members that two ambulances need to be taken out of service. He recommended that they be sold. He said that the sale should be internet-based, telling members that the vehicles would not fetch much locally.
Member Scott Hughes suggested selling two vehicles and purchasing a new one.
An ambulance purchase proposed for fiscal 2007-2008 was delayed.
In the end, the commission approved the purchase of the new ambulance unanimously.