County awards ambulance contract

Marshall County has approved Lifeguard Ambulance Service of Winona as lowest bidder for the contract to provide ambulance service.

CareMed opted out of the bidding process, and LifeCare Ambulance Service out of Memphis, Tenn., did not make the cut, according to chancery clerk Chuck Thomas.

Lifeguard presented prices for three, five, six, seven and eight ambulances.

Thomas said the board of supervisors approved a contract with Lifeguard for three ambulances to be stationed in the county at a bid price of $675,000 a year for 24 hour coverage.

The following bids for additional ambulances were:

• $1.95 million for five ambulances;

• $2.6 million for six;

• $2.95 million for seven;

• $3.55 million for eight.

A quick response vehicle staffed by the manager was included in all bids. LifeCare Ambulance bid $525,000 a year per vehicle for 24-hour service. A third bid missed the deadline and was not opened. Thomas said the board decided to start with three ambulances and then take that number up as calls increase and/or new housing is built to support the service through an increase in the tax base.

In Emergency Medical Services business, coordinator Leland Reed reported on the rural fire truck program through insurance rebates. He said all departments have completed their reports to the state.

Victoria Volunteer Fire Department has been approved for $70,000 in rebate support.

The board of supervisors approved a request to purchase four new radios, one per truck, that will update the radio system for fire departments.

A grant application for new air packs for the volunteer fire departments was approved at a price of $191,000. The air packs are self-containing breathing apparatuses that firefighters use when combating a blaze.

Thomas said the insurance rebate money has not arrived due to the state Census.

“If the Census numbers go down, the insurance money will go down,” Thomas said.

Anderson report County board of supervisors consultant Gary Anderson said the state has a $1 billion surplus, plus the $1.8 billion from the federal government American Rescue Plan funding that has money in it for infrastructure. He asked the board to provide project-ready requests. “We need to make sure we have our projects in line,” he said. “We know the Tippah River Bridge is already projectready.” District 1 supervisor Charles Terry said there is a road in the Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park that needs to be widened to three lanes that could be made ready for the shovel-ready list. “We need to be proactive,” he said. Anderson said having local matching fund money would help improve the odds of getting a project awarded as well as having the engineering done.

A project on Barringer Road to extend sewer lines could be good, he said.

October 15 is the date the legislative budget office will be out with a budget plan for the $1.8 billion to be acted on by the legislature in January, he said.

In other business, the board:

• approved entering a memorandum of understanding with the City of Holly Springs to repair a driveway in District 2 where an electric utility truck caused damage while installing service.

• discussed formation of a Crime Stoppers board of directors. Thomas suggested tapping the committee that worked on the tornado recovery to serve as board members.

Maj. David Cook with the sheriff’s department will attend the Crime Stoppers training conference in October in Biloxi.

• authorized a request from the prison to run a county dozer around the outside perimeter of the fence to take down vegetation, pending entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Mississippi Department of Corrections that took over the prison operation September 13.

• learned a walking trail application with Mississippi Wildlife, Forestry and Parks was not funded.

• accepted a $1.2 million appropriation from the Mississippi Legislature to improve Barringer Road.

• approved a motion to obtain quotes to replace the roof on the Marshall County Historical Museum.

• approved a pay request from J.P. Corporation for $880,860 for request #12, work to complete the new justice court complex. It is now down to finish work on the interior, said Ken Jones, director of zoning. A request for $2,805 and $812 from Dean & Dean Architects was also approved on the project.

Jones said what is left is to get new furniture in to finish out the project.

A change order to pour a concrete pad to hold the air conditioning unit and transformers will be installed to keep grass from growing around the air conditioner fans.

• authorized a change order for $8,000 to install internet at Isaac Chapel Rosenwald School.

• discussed a request by District 4 supervisor George Zinn III to locate an ambulance station at Chulahoma. Concerns about providing sleeping quarters for first responders were included in the discussion.

County administrator Tim Powell said sleeping quarters for two would be needed at any ambulance station.

“It will affect the budget,” he said.

• discussed relocating the county shop in future plans, after a break room was brought up.

• learned that about 0.2 miles on the Moore Plantation subdivision road needs repair with micro seal due to vehicles disturbing the surface.

• approved updating the county website.