The Culver Town Council opened one bid for a new ambulance for Culver-Union Township EMS.
The lone bid came from North Central Emergency Vehicles and Osage Ambulances for a 2022 Ford E-450 Osage ambulance body. After a Ford rebate and a trade-in of the 2009 ambulance, the total deliverable price would be $269,108.58.
EMS Director Jeff Koon explained that he sent out three proposals and only one came back. He said there could be several reasons why only one bid was received, including a delay in deliveries and unknown time frames. He commented others may have just simply decided not to bid at this time.
Councilman Bill Cleavenger asked if there was a need for an ambulance or could the process wait for a while in order to collect more bids. Koon replied one ambulance needs to be replaced as soon as possible as it is on its last legs. While the current ambulance is safe to tend to patients, he would like to get the new ambulance for better safety of patients.
Koon added that he was not shocked at the bid price as it is a specialized vehicle.
The council did unanimously approve a motion to allow Koon to review the bid to ensure that it meets all of the specifications and report his findings during the next council meeting. It will be then if the council agrees to purchase the ambulance.
