The Sabetha City Commission met at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, at Sabetha City Hall. Present for the meeting were Mayor Cody Bletscher, Commissioners Norm Schmitt, Nick Aberle, Maridel Wittmer and Julie Burenheide, City Administrator Doug Allen, Assistant City Administrator Bill Shroyer, City Clerk Steve Compo, and EMS Director Doug Brammer. Also present was Alex Dawdy, Jeremiah Engelken, Jason Enneking, Josh Burger, Megan Bunck, Bobbi Dillon, Matt Bachtold, and Krae Aberle, Isaac Hartter and Victoria Bachtold for AP Government.

Ambulance Bids

Brammer said Sabetha EMS has been searching for a new ambulance to purchase back in August, when they heard there was a backlog for new ambulances.

“Normally, we’re on a five year rotation, but they are backed up at least two years,” Brammer said. “So, we are starting our process a little earlier than normal. At this point, the earliest we could get a truck would be the first quarter of 2026.”

Brammer presented two bids which Sabetha EMS received. The first bid was from Osage Ambulance Supply in the amount of $261,450 and the second bid was from American Response Vehicles (ARV) in the amount of $257,472.27.

“Osage is the company we’ve chosen for the past three trucks,” Brammer said. “We would really like to go with the Osage truck. First of all because of the experience we have had with them. It is a little bit higher than the ARV quote, around $3,900. We feel like with what Osage has to offer well offsets that extra cost this time. The Osage truck is built with a heavier gauge steel, which we think makes it last longer and is safer. Osage offers a proprietary UV light system for the patient compartment. UV light disinfects the health systems back in the patient compartment. This is a system [their UV light system] that one of their engineers invent. It covers 90 percent of the patient compartment and the standard UV system that would be in the other truck covers about 60 percent… In the ambulance manufacturing world, I would call them a small business, and they have a small business mentality. They really take care of their customers.”

After a few comments by the commissioners, the bid from Osage Ambulance Supply was approved unanimously.

Midtown Lot Proposal

Engelken returned to discuss his proposal for new housing on the Midtown lot, which he discussed with the commissioners at their Oct. 11 meeting. Engelken’s plan is to build eight houses and implement a Home Owners Association (HOA) to keep the property clean.

At the last meeting, the commissioners raised some concerns about the buildings being a “pole barn structure” and the metal siding. 

“We made some tweaks to this, so we changed this to a little more of a traditional home style,” Engelken said. “We have a stick frame building and smart lap siding. I am keeping the Wick steel on the roof, because it is UL listed and we can get good breaks on insurance. It will outlast shingles much longer and it can take hail a little better too. Overall costs, it adds about $4,000 on my end. I’m shooting for around the $165,000 sale mark. I got a lot of feedback when I put them on Facebook.”

The commissioners discussed the price of the land and asked questions about the HOA. Allen said approximately three or four years ago, the commissioners were thinking approximately $30,000 for the entire lot.

Following the discussion, the commissioners decided to table the discussion until the Dec. 11 meeting. Until then, Engelken said he would provide a copy of the HOA to the commissioners for their review, and the commissioners will continue to think about the project and think about the price of the land.

Also at the meeting:

The commissioners approved the minutes from the Oct. 23 meeting.

The commissioners approved cereal malt beverage licenses for Caseys General Store, Pizza Hut, All Star Convenience Store, Garrett Country Mart, Dollar General Store, and Dollar Tree/Family Dollar Store.

The commissioners went into a 10-minute executive session to discuss employee wages. Following the executive session, the commissioners approved Wage Resolution No. 2024-29, which approved a nine percent increase.

The commissioners will meet again at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 27, at City Hall.