Syracuse Turns Down Ambulance Purchase at Heated Meeting
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jordan Fouts-
Member Brian Woody left the meeting after a 3-2 vote rejected the purchase of an ambulance for the joint Syracuse-Turkey Creek Fire and EMT service. He and Bill Musser were in favor of replacing an 11-year-old vehicle with a new one at a cost of about $155,000.
Board President Paul Stoelting and members Larry Siegel and Jeff Morgan voted no.
The Turkey Creek Fire Territory Board already voted 4-1 for the purchase at its last meeting, but cannot move forward without a nod from Syracuse.
The town would only have to contribute $21,700 toward the vehicle – “peanuts,” Woody said, especially compared to maintenance costs for the older vehicle, which is only used when the other two ambulances are already on call. There were 17 times last year when the old ambulance, Unit 6, was the only option, according to fire board member Bill Dixon.
“It's a steal for the town,” Woody said, as council debated the purchase versus $8,000 for repairs to Unit 6, as well as projected maintenance costs for the fleet. “It comes pretty darn close to paying for itself with runs.”
The EMS service charges $890 per call and made about 1,200 calls last year, noted Dixon. If the service were forced to retire Unit 6 they would miss thousands of dollars in “revenue events,” he told council.
Cutting responses to the most far-flung areas wouldn't do enough to offset maintenance costs, noted Fire Captain and EMT Brian Richcreek. He said he considers a third ambulance necessary because of an increasing number of calls each year, putting more strain on the fleet.
“We're getting called more often, and driving more miles in less time,” he said. “We've doubled the mileage we're getting – maintenance costs are going to climb.”
Stoelting and Siegel said they would prefer repairing Unit 6, which may last another five years according to estimates from a few service shops. They and Morgan also questioned the math on projected maintenance bills.
“If my car broke down, I would rather spend $1,000 to fix it than pay $50,000 for a new car,” Stoelting remarked.
Woody, who called the vote “terrible” and “pathetic” as he left the room along with several members of the fire territory, had suggested covering the town's share by spending less on what he called beautification projects.
“Let's not buy sidewalks this year,” he said. “There's an ambulance right there.”
Later in the meeting, council approved $9,998 in purchase agreements with residents to provide land for water booster and lift stations, a move toward providing services to the planned industrial park north of town. Members also approved eight easement agreements for water lines, in many cases in exchange for a fee waiver on water and sewer hookup.[[In-content Ad]]
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Member Brian Woody left the meeting after a 3-2 vote rejected the purchase of an ambulance for the joint Syracuse-Turkey Creek Fire and EMT service. He and Bill Musser were in favor of replacing an 11-year-old vehicle with a new one at a cost of about $155,000.
Board President Paul Stoelting and members Larry Siegel and Jeff Morgan voted no.
The Turkey Creek Fire Territory Board already voted 4-1 for the purchase at its last meeting, but cannot move forward without a nod from Syracuse.
The town would only have to contribute $21,700 toward the vehicle – “peanuts,” Woody said, especially compared to maintenance costs for the older vehicle, which is only used when the other two ambulances are already on call. There were 17 times last year when the old ambulance, Unit 6, was the only option, according to fire board member Bill Dixon.
“It's a steal for the town,” Woody said, as council debated the purchase versus $8,000 for repairs to Unit 6, as well as projected maintenance costs for the fleet. “It comes pretty darn close to paying for itself with runs.”
The EMS service charges $890 per call and made about 1,200 calls last year, noted Dixon. If the service were forced to retire Unit 6 they would miss thousands of dollars in “revenue events,” he told council.
Cutting responses to the most far-flung areas wouldn't do enough to offset maintenance costs, noted Fire Captain and EMT Brian Richcreek. He said he considers a third ambulance necessary because of an increasing number of calls each year, putting more strain on the fleet.
“We're getting called more often, and driving more miles in less time,” he said. “We've doubled the mileage we're getting – maintenance costs are going to climb.”
Stoelting and Siegel said they would prefer repairing Unit 6, which may last another five years according to estimates from a few service shops. They and Morgan also questioned the math on projected maintenance bills.
“If my car broke down, I would rather spend $1,000 to fix it than pay $50,000 for a new car,” Stoelting remarked.
Woody, who called the vote “terrible” and “pathetic” as he left the room along with several members of the fire territory, had suggested covering the town's share by spending less on what he called beautification projects.
“Let's not buy sidewalks this year,” he said. “There's an ambulance right there.”
Later in the meeting, council approved $9,998 in purchase agreements with residents to provide land for water booster and lift stations, a move toward providing services to the planned industrial park north of town. Members also approved eight easement agreements for water lines, in many cases in exchange for a fee waiver on water and sewer hookup.[[In-content Ad]]
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