The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/109082
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, February 13, 2013 A-9 H Council told to build new EMS building Continued from page 1 which didn���t include the carpentry costs that would have to be done by a separate firm. EMS Director Chris Young last year presented preliminary plans for a new seven-bay building to be built across from Pike Central on donated property. Cost estimates were from $750,000 to $1 million plus. Young had attained significant commitments of donations for furniture and items. Nelson said now the EMS is keeping an ambulance at the Arthur fire station of the Patoka Township Fire Department as well as one at the Pike County Sheriff���s Department in Petersburg. ���It has made us look at decentralization,��� said Nelson. He said this has improved the service���s response time in both the northern and southern parts of the county. ���So far it has worked wonderfully. The way things look, we may pull an ambulance out of the Spurgeon Station, because they can���t staff it. That is just the way it is.��� EMS Director Young said, ���A lot of these things sound great. But we are homeless. We have been homeless for three months.��� He said keeping the ambulances warm and operating during the winter months with no building to park them in is a significant burden to the EMTs. However, he said the response time to Stendal is now 11 minutes, where before, while stationed in Campbelltown, it was 20 minutes plus. Also the response time to Union and Petersburg is quicker because an ambulance is being stationed in Petersburg at the sheriff���s department. Young said this is only a temporary solution. He said Patoka Fire Department doesn���t want them in their fire building permanently nor does the Sheriff���s Department. Nelson said one of the problems at the sheriff���s department is the diesel engine block heaters are causing breakers to blow at the sheriff���s department. Councilman Dennis Bishop asked if a new ambulance building in Petersburg had been included as part of the Stellar Communities plan. Fran Lewis, Petersburg���s City Council president and interim mayor said it was the first she had heard of the idea. However, she said they weren���t against it. Bishop said it was his understanding a new fire station had been included in the project. He said if a joint ambulance quarters couldn���t be involved in the new building, the old fire department building at the corner of 10th and Walnut Sts. might be considered by the EMS. Lewis said there have been several suggestions for that building including tearing it down and making more parking for the courthouse, since Eighth St., next to the courthouse, is going to be a plaza. Councilman Max Elliott said, ���I think we are at the point you need to get someone to put your numbers together and weight them out and see which way you want to go,��� said Elliott. The commissioners will have to make a request for funding or use funding already in place to hire an architect or consultant on the project. If they request additional funding, it would have to come before the council for their approval. Nelson asked if the council would consider a special meeting to speed up the process. Council President Greg Willis said if a special meeting was needed, they would convene one. Council approves $60,000 for highway equipment Councilmen voted 6 0 to approve $60,000 of a $100,000 additional appropriation request from the Highway Department. Commissioner Brian Davis told the council they wanted the $100,000 to have on hand so if a piece of used equipment were available they could purchase it. Councilman Dennis Bishop said he understood the need to have money in place if used equipment became Have You Tried? Restaurant Guide is designed specifically for non-franchise and unique restaurants in the area that are within a reasonable driving distance of Pike and Gibson Counties. available, because by the time an additional appropriation request goes through the different meetings and approvals, the equipment would be gone. The additional appropriation request was $100,000 ���for the purchase of equipment.��� ���That is a little vague, can you tell us what equipment you are looking at? I know it is your decision but we would kind of like to know what you are looking at,��� said Mangin. He added he would like to see a plan from the commissioners about future equipment needs at the highway department. ���We are working on a five year plan,��� said Highway Superintendent Roger Ham. Ham said the drag tractor was in bad shape and caught fire about three months ago. A guy stopped and put it out. Commissioner Davis said he was interested in the county doing most of the paving this summer inhouse to save money. He said a bottle neck of that is they need another dump truck and a piece of equipment that mills pavement smoothing seams from one section of paving to another. Davis said their biggest bottleneck is caused by not having enough dump trucks to haul blacktop material to the site. So they end up having to sit and wait for the material to arrive. He said last year they pur- chased a large used dump truck for $28,000, that new would have cost $150,000. They hope to find another. Councilman Willis asked about the projected revenues. He said he heard the state was expecting revenues to increase. Auditor Ron Wilson said revenues might be up a little but they have been less than the state���s projections. Council ma n Ma ng in asked if they could approve a portion of the $100,000 later in the year when they would have a better idea of what their revenue was going to be. He suggested $60,000. ���I���m don���t believe in spending money on projected income,��� said Krohn. Mangin���s suggestion of reducing the request to $60,000 was approved by a 6-0 vote. In other highway funds, the council approved a request for $14,902 for the Cumulative Bridge fund to repair the deck on County Bridge 57. Ham said the metal pan under the blacktop deck had rusted out and the pan and deck needed to be replaced. He said the contract was to take out the deck, replace the metal pan and then pour a concrete floor. It is located on County Road 50S over Flat Creek just west of CR900E. ��� Petersburg City Council President Fran Lewis spoke to the council about their Stellar Communities grant application. She said their letter of intent is due on March 1 and then 30 days later the 10 finalists are announced. She said she hoped the county would partner with Petersburg as they did last year, when they committed a match of $250,000. No action was taken by the council. The next council meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 12. GG���s Salon welcomes st ylist Jill Tooley Appointments and walk-ins welcome. $10 off color thru Feb. Southgate Shopping Center next to BMV in Jasper 812-482-9088. tooley11@hotmail.com Promote your business by offering a delicious special that will entice diners from all over the Tri-State. This feature will appear the second edition of each month in beautiful full-process color. John Heuring Cindy Petty Nancy Copley Pam Lemond Advertising Manager Ad Sales Consultant Ad Sales Consultant Ad Sales Consultant Cell: 812-789-3671 Email: ads@pressdispatch.net Cell: 812-664-2359 Email: ads@sgstartimes.com Cell: 812-664-6836 Email: ads@sgstartimes.com Office: 812-354-8500 Email: ads@pressdispatch.net Phone: 812-354-8500 | Fax: 812-354-2014 Serving Pike and Surrounding Counties Phone: 812-753-3553 | Fax: 812-753-4251 Serving Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch The combined influence of more than 8,000 households!