County to buy lots for Keokuk EMS bay

LEE COUNTY - Lee County Supervisors made a quick course correction on new EMS Ambulance facilities in Keokuk Monday.

At the regular board of supervisors' meeting in Fort Madison, the board voted 5-0 to purchase three lots from Paul Rairden in Keokuk that are adjacent to the current facility.

Rairden owns the U-Haul lot on the corner of 16th and Blondeau and the two lots adjacent to the current ambulance and the county has agreed to a $70,000 purchase price for all three of the lots.

Plans are to utilize the current facility until construction on a new building can take place, and then the current facility could be torn down.

Supervisor Garry Seyb said the county could then possibly look at selling off one of the lots to recoup some of the funds, if someone wanted to build next to the ambulance facility.

Seyb  said current staff is sleeping on cots at the facility.

Chuck Holmes suggested buying all three and then selling the corner U-Haul lot.

"Then we wouldn't be spending ten or twenty thousand dollars on demo on that corner lot and someone could put that building to good use," Holmes said.

But Seyb said he would like to see the new construction on the lot facing the street that would allow easier entry and exit for ambulance services to 16th Street.

"If we bought the whole thing for $70,000, then we could turn around and sell the residential lot once we've got the construction done," he said.

"I really think from my point it would be nice if we could keep the egress out toward the business district."

Seyb made the motion to buy the entire three lots from Rairden and all five supervisors voted in favor.

The county had initially considered purchasing a building and garage on Main Street for about $200,000, plus the cost of renovating the building and a new larger garage which hovered around $150,000.

In other action, the board:
• voted 5-0 to approve a resolution to reimburse new hires for the ambulance staff up to $2,100 for training expenses on conditions that the staff pass all course work and exams and stay with the county ambulance service for at least one full year.
• voted 5-0 to hire an engineer to design the new Keokuk ambulance bay.
• voted 5-0 to set a public hearing for Oct. 24, 2022 at 10:01 a.m. to consider an application for a Community Development Block Grant for up to $800,000 to help with costs of a new Lee County Health Department building.