County to vote on ambulance, substation purchases

Sept. 02--PANAMA CITY -- Very soon the county may be the proud parent of an ambulance fleet.

The Bay County Commission on Tuesday is scheduled to vote on purchasing 22 ambulances, leasing rights to a substation and other equipment, all totaling $449,520. The move comes as the county prepares to take over emergency medical services (EMS) from Bay Medical Center Sacred Heart Health System. The takeover will occur Oct. 1 and won't be a gradual phase-in, but a clean break on that date.

The county will vote on two separate transactions at its meeting. The first is a $300,000 deal with the current EMS operator for all its existing assets, including the Panama City Beach substation, which appraises at $425,000, said Mark Bowen, county emergency services director

"In terms of value, that beach substation is positioned so that it serves Panama City Beach (and) the unincorporated areas of the county and we really wanted to keep that location," he said.

The county won't own the building and the property, which is on Hutchison Boulevard, but will have the same exclusive lease and rights to it as the current operator has, Bowen said.

"For your lifetime and mine, it's just as good as owning it," he said.

In total, the county will get 14 ambulances under the deal.

"We're buying their whole fleet and we're getting the building that we need. And they made an offer and we thought it was a good one," Bowen said.

Under a separate transaction, the county will vote on buying eight used American LaFrance ambulances from Sarasota County for a total of $149,520. That amount would be paid out over two years. If the county bought the ambulances brand new, they would run $250,000 to $275,000 a piece, so it's a good deal, Bowen said.

"These ambulances, for our purposes, are frontline equipment," he said.

Bowen already has been to South Florida to look over the vehicles and was confident they would be a "good addition."

"It's a way to not have to make a big capital investment in the near term while we're getting this off the ground," he said.

The plan is to maintain a fleet of 14 ambulances and rotate the American LaFrance vehicles in as necessary, Bowen said.

Recently, the commission approved a $3 million line of credit for EMS as it gets started and that will cover these initial purchases.

"What we'll want to do is maintain the same level of service that Bay Medical has had up until this point," Bowen said.

Currently, the county plans to keep the same staffing levels, except it will add another "12-hour float truck," giving it a total of two on duty, Bowen said.

"There is a slight increase in the level of service just to make sure that we can cover all the calls," he said.

Commissioner Bill Dozier said county staff has been doing a good job moving through the process with the ambulances.

"I believe it's necessary that we do this, and I'm comfortable with it as it is right now," he said.

As the county inches closer to the Oct. 1 transfer date, Dozier was optimistic it would go off without a hitch.

"I feel that when we get to that point we'll be ready," he said.

The commission meeting will start at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Bay County Government Center at 840 W. 11th St. in Panama City. It is open to the public.

Copyright 2013 - The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.