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Iowa County Ambulance prepares specs for new vehicle
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
MARENGO — Iowa County Supervisors decided last month to order a new ambulance and hope the engine in the 2020 Ford doesn’t give out.
Iowa County Ambulance Director Adam Rabe said during a March 28 meeting of the Iowa County Board of Supervisors that he would normally be asking to take bids for a new ambulance because it takes about 18 months to get one, but a mechanic told him that a cylinder in the engine of the 2020 Ford is missing and the ambulance needs a new engine.
The cost would be around $12,000.
The ambulance runs fine, said Rabe of the 2020 Ford. He can’t tell there’s anything wrong. “It’s in a backup status now. We don’t use it much,” he said.
The mechanic heard the misfire, and people who know what they are listening for can hear it when the ambulance idles, said Rabe, but he doesn’t notice the problem.
Under Rabe’s capital purchase plan, the county would buy two new EKG monitors at a cost of $96,000 in fiscal year 2026, a new ambulance, at $287,500, in fiscal year 2027 and another two EKG monitors in FY28.
But if the county replaces the engine in the 2020 ambulance, Rabe would buy two EKG monitors in FY27 and push the new ambulance back to FY28, he said.
“I felt like this deserved more discussion,” said Rabe.
The 2020 ambulance has 133,760 miles on it, according to a document he supplied to supervisors. It was purchased for $222,940 with a $10,500 trade in.
The 2024 ambulance purchased last year cost $283,156, but with a $17,000 trade in, the county paid $266,156.
Supervisors decided to take a chance on the engine and proceed with the purchase of a new ambulance.
Supervisor Seth Meyer said Rabe should ride it out and try to get the new ambulance.
Keven Heitshusen said the county should “roll the dice” and see what happens.
“It’s not going to fall apart,” said Rabe. “I think [we should] probably get rid of it as soon as you can.”
Supervisors Abby Maas and Chris Montross agreed that the county should buy a new ambulance rather than replacing the engine on a backup vehicle.
“I don’t want to spend the money if we don’t have to,” Rabe said.
Rabe told Supervisors he will prepare specifications so the county can order a new ambulance.
