City proposes rental charge for ambulance building

Though the Sundance City Council and Crook County Medical District Board of Trustees previously appeared to have come to an amicable decision regarding the city’s ambulances, Council Member Joe Wilson approached the board on Thursday with a financial matter that still needs to be settled. Specifically, he proposed a rent agreement for the building in which the ambulances will continue to be housed.

When asked at the beginning of December, the council agreed that the district may still keep its emergency vehicles in the city building, but no mention was made of an associated cost. Wilson explained that, since that time, he and Mayor Paul Brooks have met with department heads Mac Erickson, Public Works Director, and Kathy Lenz, Clerk Treasurer.

Wilson came before the board with a proposal for monthly rent that, he said, would cover utilities and building maintenance costs.

“Our goal is to keep you guys tied with us,” he told the board, explaining that the city wants to keep its partnership with the district alive to ensure that the doors to potential grants for ambulances stay open, but would also like to settle its line item for ambulances now it is no longer responsible for them.

That line item, said Wilson, has been set at $21,000 per year and is split between ambulance repair, building maintenance and utilities for the building in which the ambulances are stored. The first of those three items is now a moot point, he said, but he would like to see the other two elements funded by the district.

That would allow the council to put its $21,000 per year towards maintenance of the city itself, Wilson said. On behalf of himself, Brooks and the department heads, Wilson offered a proposal for $1000 per month in rent.

Meanwhile, he said, the $32,500 that the city has accumulated via the county’s annual contribution to the ambulances can be transferred to the district as a potential match for a grant.

“It’s a great amount of money to put towards some sort of grant,” he said.

Board Chairman Mark Erickson commented that this proposal is “a little different” to what trustees heard at the council meeting and said the board would first want to know exactly what the utility bill comes to. Wilson responded that the city budgets $4000 per year for that cost.

The remaining $8000 in the $12,000 per year that the rental agreement would provide would be used for building maintenance, he said. The city would reserve funding to deal with issues as they emerge; for example, said Wilson, if someone backs into a door or a boiler goes out.

Erickson explained that the board is not opposed to a request for rental, but needs to budget according to the actual costs for a fair rent because the district must put in its own costs in order to be reimbursed.

Regarding the discussion Wilson and Brooks held with department heads about the future of the relationship between the district and city, Trustee Sandy Neiman added, “That’s what we wanted – that’s what we’ve been asking for”.

“For us to have that access through you guys is huge,” she continued, referring to the kinds of grant that the district is not eligible to apply for. Wilson agreed, commenting that it is the city’s wish to help keep the ambulance service as modern as possible.

Wilson requested that district representatives attend the council’s January meeting to “set in stone” the agreement. The board, concerned that the cost seems high considering the ambulances only take up 14 percent of the building in question, also decided that Trustee Erickson will make a call to Public Works Director Erickson to ascertain specific costs in order for the board to consider if it will make a counter offer to the $1000 proposed.