HOULTON, Maine — The town will soon have an entirely different fleet of ambulances to replace an aging collection of emergency vehicles.
Houlton town councilors reversed an earlier decision and decided to approve a plan to lease four ambulances from Autotronics of Madawaska, at a cost of $8,589 per month for the next five years. The total cost of the leasing package is about $515,340.
The money, already factored into the town’s 2015 municipal budget, will cover the cost of the lease agreement, Houlton Town Manager Butch Asselin said.
The council originally expressed reservations about leasing, rather than buying outright, because at the end of the lease period, the town will not own any of the vehicles. The group initially voted 3-2 to pursue purchasing instead of leasing, but reversed that decision Monday night by an equally close vote of 4-2. Councilors John White, Phil Cloney, Jane Torres and Matt Carr voted in favor of the measure, with councilors Brent Dickison and Dan Peabody opposed.
Houlton presently has three ambulances — a 2009 Ford with about 169,000 miles on it, a 2010 GM Braun with about 105,000 miles and a 2011 GM Braun with about 214,000 miles. All three vehicles are in need of either costly repairs or replacement, according to Ambulance Director and Fire Chief Milton Cone.
In the lease proposal, Autotronics will take the department’s three vehicles on trade-in for $18,000. In return, the town will receive four ambulances — two 2006 GMC C4500 Braun units, a 2012 GMC G4500 and 2015 GMC G4500 Braun with a remount of one the town’s existing cabins.
Cone explained the two 2006 vehicles are considered “medium duty” rescue vehicles, with a larger chassis and engine designed to last for 300,000-400,000 miles. Both of those units have about 110,000 miles on them. The 2012 unit has about 20,000 miles and the 2015 is new.
Cone said all of the maintenance for the ambulances would be included in the lease package. The town presently spends around $30,000 per year on maintenance for its three ambulances. As part of the agreement, the town would be granted 127,000 miles per year in the lease agreement, and any miles logged over that amount would be charged at a rate of $1.75 per mile. The mileage amount could be revisited at a later time if the town finds it is vastly exceeding that cap.
Wade Hanson, council chairman, asked if the larger ambulances would fit under the canopies of Houlton Regional Hospital’s emergency room and the various nursing homes in the area.
Cone replied that they would not fit, but added the current ambulances do not go under the hospital canopy either.
Cone added he felt the lease/purchase deal was in the best interests of the town because it gives the town a fixed price to operate the vehicles thanks to the maintenance agreement. It was previously reported if the town wished to purchase ambulances, the projected cost over the next five years would be about $555,000 plus an additional cost for maintenance, based on the current schedule of replacing vehicles.
“There are pros and cons to both deals,” he said. “I would love to have nice new vehicles. In looking at the dollar amounts, it would be more costly for us to purchase than it would be to lease them. I honestly think the lease seems to be the right thing for this point in time because we can lock in our prices.”
Adding a fourth vehicle to the department will provide added flexibility, Cone said, and eliminate the need to borrow a “loaner” unit in the event one is out of service. However, adding a fourth ambulance may increase the town’s automotive insurance expense. Asselin said the early estimates on insuring the four ambulances is $7,700.
The leased ambulances are expected to arrive in Houlton in early March.
