New ambulance needed, commissioners told

Kimball County Commissioners were told a new ambulance was needed at their regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 20.

Ambulance Director Carla Goranson brought along Mike Schadegg of Schadegg Motors to help explain that the county ambulances are in need of repair and to be replaced.

“One of them needs to be replaced for sure. Even though the one doesn’t have many miles on it, it has made up for that in all the time it has spent idling while on calls,” Schadegg said.

Goranson confirmed that the ambulances spend a lot of time on scene idling in order to keep the machinery on the inside running.

“If we are going to get a new ambulance we need to do it soon. Right now we can probably get one for about $100,000. After the new regulations in 2016 kick in, however, we won’t be able to get an ambulance that meets the new safety (regulations) for under $300,000,” Goranson said.

The commissioners advised Goranson to provide a pricing report on what it typically costs to buy an ambulance and then to seek out some prospective buys. This will allow the commissioners to look into it for the next fiscal year.

Dave Hottell, county highway superintendent, had little to report but said he secured a public hearing for the one and six-year round improvement program. The hearing will be at the Feb. 3 commissioners meeting.

Shaun Evertson, the county’s veterans service officer, requested help for his office. Evertson said that since he is only part-time, the county should hire someone to handle the day-to-day duties of the office and be a constant presence so no one would be left in the lurch when visiting the office. The commissioners said that in order to do something like that they would have to find more money within the budget. A note was made to see what could be done that would not mean more money to be spent.

Jo Caskey, county tourism director, provided a report on all the upcoming events for the visitors center. It is estimated that the High Point Welcome Center serves about 900 people a month. Nebraska State Tourism will be providing the visitors center with a summer employee again, even extending their stay through October. Many of the events that brought in tourism last year will be appearing this year as well. The birdwatching and wild flower tours are returning, and so are the Wyoming Mounted Shooters. Caskey is still working on a few things and will provide another updated report in the coming months.

The District Clerks Office is looking to get some electrical wiring and Internet hook-up work completed on the third floor in its new offices. They have only received one bid to date, for roughly $5,000. The bid was not accepted yet, and District Clerk Deb Diemoz was advised to continue to try to find other companies that might have lower bids.

The next commissioners meeting will be held at 9 a.m. on Feb. 3.