Salina City Commission Approves Ambulance Upgrade Change Order

The Salina City Commission voted 4-0 on Monday to approve a $32,966 change order for the remount of an existing fire department ambulance, allowing the city to replace damaged interior wood cabinetry with aluminum cabinets designed for longer-term durability.

Salina Fire Chief Shane Pearson said the commission had previously approved the remount in January, but additional issues were uncovered once the ambulance was sent to the manufacturer and dismantled.

According to Pearson, the ambulance’s interior cabinets were originally built with plywood and laminate, similar to kitchen-style cabinetry. As the remount process moved forward, the manufacturer discovered structural problems with those cabinets.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve experienced this, but it’s the first time we’ve experienced it to this magnitude,” Pearson said.

Pearson said the ambulance is the last unit in the city’s fleet to go through its first remount cycle under a process the department began about seven years ago with Osage Ambulance. The unit is roughly eight years old.

He said the manufacturer offered a repair option for the existing wood cabinets, but much of that cost would still be tied to labor because the interior of the ambulance would have to be dismantled either way. Instead, the department recommended upgrading to aluminum cabinets coated with hardened epoxy paint, the same type used in a new-build ambulance approved last year.

Pearson told commissioners the aluminum cabinets are more durable, require little to no maintenance, and are less susceptible to cracking caused by humidity and road movement.

If approved, the change would make this the second ambulance in the fleet to receive aluminum cabinetry. Pearson said the department would prefer to continue moving in that direction as part of its long-term remount strategy.

He also said the city has been pleased with the remount process over the years, and that the manufacturer believes the ambulances can go through another full remount cycle with moderate upgrades such as this one. That approach, he said, could extend the life of the city’s ambulance fleet by another eight years before a new build would need to be considered.

Pearson said the change order raises the remount cost from the $233,185 approved in January to $266,151. Including the cot that was also approved earlier this year, the total cost would rise to $288,866. Even with that increase, he said the remounted ambulance would still cost more than $100,000 less than a new-build unit while delivering what he described as near new-build quality.

During the commission discussion, support emerged for the larger upfront investment as the better long-term fix.

“We’ve got a $10,000 Band-Aid, or we have a $33,000 replacement fix, and I know if it were for my business or my company, looking long term, that $33,000 seems well spent to me,”  Commissioner Rempp said.

The commission ultimately approved the change order on a 4-0 vote.