Allen County commissioners — Dick Works reluctantly — voted Tuesday to spend $63,200 to remodel the Heartland Rural Electric shop building to accommodate county ambulances and crews.
An adjunct was that the work be completed within six weeks of the county taking possession of the building, or sometime in June if Heartland vacates the structure later this month as expected.
Ambulances stationed in Iola will be moved to the building about June 30; others are housed in Humboldt and Moran.
Works’ reluctance to approve the expenditure came from his thought that more thorough planning should have occurred, he said, and that more effort should have gone into soliciting bids.
Just one bid was received from a primary contractor — $46,058 from Superior Builders, Iola. The remainder of the cost is for local subcontractors for plumbing (Anderson Plumbing), air-conditioning and heating (Tholen’s Heating and Cooling) and electrical work (Hoffmeier Electric).
When the work is complete, the county will have spent nearly $800,000 on the public safety complex at 410 N. State St.
Angie Murphy, 911 dispatch director, told commissioners a week ago that $558,358 had been spent on remodeling the main Heartland building into the Allen County Critical Response Center, which contains dispatch and emergency management offices. A Kansas Emergency Management grant for $143,203 has been approved toward those expenses.
The future ambulance barn is at the rear of the property, acquired by the county for $100,000 in cash and transfer of land the county purchased two years ago in Gas for $75,000 to build an ambulance station and dispatch center there.
At that time, construction costs were anticipated at about $700,000, with a $330,000 Community Development Block Grant available.
The county’s purchase of the Heartland property includes a third building, which commissioners said Tuesday might be available to rent.
THE DECISION to spend the money to restructure the building for crew quarters — including bathrooms and a day room — didn’t occur quickly.
Commissioner Rob Francis made a motion, but neither Works nor Gary McIntosh put it to a vote with a second. Works was silent and McIntosh, with reservations, said he didn’t “have a mental concept of what we’re talking about with the remodeling,” and suggested a walk-through so “we can get a better feel.”
Commissioners adjourned to the building and saw first hand what Ambulance Director Jason Nelson wanted done.
Upon return to the courthouse, Francis again moved to accept Superior’s bid and those of sub-contractors. After another moment of silence, McIntosh seconded the motion and, following yet another delay, Works made the decision unanimous.
