Council approves purchase of new ambulance chassis

by Dan Holland

June 6 city council meeting

Members of Broadview Heights City Council at their June 6 meeting approved the purchase of a 2023 Ford E-450 ambulance prep chassis for the city’s fire department at a total cost of $127,598.

Fire Chief Jeffrey Hajek explained the department normally reuses the “box” – the unit that houses all the vehicle’s medical equipment – and has it refurbished and installed one time on a brand-new chassis in order to save money. A brand-new complete ambulance would have cost $230,000.

“We take the box off the ambulance we have now, repaint the box, fix anything that’s wrong with it and add new handles onto it,” said Hajek. ”We will upgrade the interior and put that box on the new chassis, which will save the city $100,000. For every box that we buy, we get two squads out of it. That isn’t common in a lot of cities; it’s just what we chose to do.”

Hajek added that the department always purchases an upgraded ambulance model that allows for the transfer of the old rear box.

“It costs a little more, but then we’ll save on the box,” he explained. “A lot of cities will buy a cheaper ambulance, but they end up scrapping the whole ambulance when it’s no longer usable and buying a brand new one. We take the box off and reuse it for the cost savings.”

Hajek explained that, although the cost was not included in this year’s budget, the item needed to be approved and ordered this year as the vehicle is not expected to be received until the first quarter of 2023.

Purchase of parcel approved

Council also approved the purchase of a 3.1-acre vacant parcel at 9318 Broadview Rd., next to Discount Drug Mart. The lot, being purchased from the Petros Family Limited Partnership, was previously eyed for development of a Goodwill Industries store. An adjacent 3-acre parcel owned by the city, which has frontage along West Royalton Road, adjoins the Broadview Road lot at its rear.

During the May 23 council work session, Mayor Sam Alai announced his desire for city council to impose a moratorium on future commercial development in the special planning district known as City Center, located near the intersection of Broadview and Royalton roads, on which the two adjacent parcels are located.

In other action, council:

  • Passed individual resolutions in appreciation of retiring police officers Kurt Brenner, Brieyan Brandenburg and Scott Zimmerman for their years of service. A resolution also was passed in appreciation of corrections officer Eric Grossnickle for years of service.
  • Passed a resolution amending an agreement with O.R. Colan Associates, LLC, for right-of-way acquisition services in connection with the Wallings Road bridge improvement project.
  • Passed a resolution amending an agreement with Perram Electric, Inc., for traffic signal services on Royalton Road.
  • Passed a resolution authorizing an agreement with Lexipol, LLC for law enforcement procedures, supplemental manuals and daily training bulletins at a cost of $13,530.
  • Passed a resolution authorizing an agreement with Triban Investments, LLC for a Cleveland Water Department easement for The Ledges townhome project along West Royalton Road.
  • Passed a resolution amending an agreement with Quality Control Inspections, Inc., for contract administration services for the Route 82 widening project.
  • Performed a first reading of six items to appear on the November ballot that suggest changes or additions to the city charter.
  • Performed a first reading of an ordinance to rezone a vacant lot located at the northeast corner of Broadview and Boston roads from C-2 general commercial to B-1 cluster/townhome residential. ∞