Troy City Council agrees to deal with ambulance service

To accommodate their expanding operation, Troy Volunteer Ambulance is en-route to a new home base.

City councilors in Troy approved the sale of a piece of municipal property to the volunteer group during a Jan. 20 meeting. Though City Clerk Tracy Rebo said there was no buy-sell agreement at the time of the meeting, the city and organization agreed on a price tag of $150,000 for the lot.

During a Jan. 13 meeting, Pam Tallmadge, vice president of the volunteer service, told city councilors that the organization was working with a loan officer to explore its financial options. While the group could purchase the property outright, Tallmadge said organizers wanted to use some of the volunteer corps' funds to refurbish the lot.

Officials in Troy began discussions to help the organization expand in August after Tallmadge told city councilors that the volunteer group has struggled with limited space in their county-owned building on Third Street for a few years. Bringing in new equipment to deal with coronavirus pandemic has further cramped their operation.

Tallmadge presented the ambulance group’s plan for the property at 303 N. Third St. during the city council meeting in August. She told councilors that one of the structures on the lot would be converted into an office building with sleeping quarters for on-duty volunteers. The group would turn another building on the lot into an instructional facility that would host everything from CPR classes to COVID-19 training. The two other buildings on the lot would serve as a garage and equipment storage space.

Tallmadge said the group would park three ambulances inside the garage and might pave a new parking spot for a fourth ambulance.

During the Jan. 13 meeting, Tallmadge said before moving in the group would need to prepare the garage for the ambulances. The organization would also have to refurbish the office building and pave the new parking area. Mayor Dallas Carr said the city would be able to help the group restructure a section of the sidewalk along the property to allow for ambulance access.

The ambulance group will have to wait for the city to move documents held in storage at the property. Following a leak at the Troy City Courtroom in November, municipal employees moved waterlogged records into one of the buildings on the lot to dry out. City councilors have also turned a building on the property into an ad-hoc meeting space while the courthouse is restored.

To settle on the price of the lot, city councilors and ambulance group partnered to contract an appraisal. The cost of the appraisal — $3,500 — was split evenly between the two parties.

Tallmadge was unsure who would take over the volunteer group’s ambulance barn on Third Street. She said, however, that County Commissioner Jerry Bennett has heard from numerous interested parties. In October, Alyssa Ramirez, director of the Lincoln County Library, said the librarians were eying the building as a possible site of expansion for the Troy library branch.