Overton Gets Good News On Ambulance, Monroe Building Bids

The Overton County Budget Committee approved bids for two ambulances and the construction of the Monroe Community Center at its Tuesday meeting.

Overton County Executive Steven Barlow said this meeting was designed to open bids for expensive projects to see if those projects are feasible before department heads present proposed budgets for the new fiscal year. He said the two ambulance bids came in at some $213,000 apiece, about $70,000 less than the ones the county ordered recently.

“Ambulances are something that takes two or three years to get,” Barlow said. “We’ve been promised an ambulance we’ve had on order since, supposed to have been here in November of ’22 and they keep pushing it out and out and out. It was supposed to be here in April. Called last week and now they’re looking at the end of May.”

Barlow said the committee accepted a bid for the construction of the new Monroe Community Center, requiring the county to pay for the cost of construction, plus 10 percent. He said contractors have estimated some $485,000 to build. He said the county has money in the Capital Funds Budget allocated for the center.

“It could be cheaper,” Barlow said. “We’re hoping and praying it’ll be a little cheaper, but it’ll be a good thing for our community to have both of those. Especially those ambulances. We’re in dire need of those, and I know other counties around us are too.”

He said two other ambulances the county ordered have been pushed back to the end of 2026 or early 2027. He said the two in this bid are expected to be shipped next week.

Barlow said the county allocated more than what it estimated for the community center project in case bids came in higher than expected. He said the project has been on the to-do list for years.

“Everything state takes a long time,” Barlow said. “You have to have engineers. You have to have blueprints. All this stuff. It can’t just be a stick building.”

He said the county has replaced the engines in six of its eight ambulances this year alone. He said one even went through three engines back-to-back-to-back.

“We’re just down,” Barlow said. “They’re wearing out quicker than you can get them, so being able to get those, huge, huge help for the county.”