Middletown will buy new equipment for emergency medial personnel with some of the federal CARES Act funding for coronavirus aid it has received.
The city will buy the new power load cot system and associated equipment for a new medic unit planned for 2021 and seven devices for hands-free administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in tight spaces.
The city will spend $43,614 for the new power load cot system and equipment from Stryker of Chicago, Ill. City Manager Jim Palenick said bidding was not an option as Stryker is the sole source for this equipment.
He said the city needs to use the CARES Act funding before a Thursday deadline.
The power load cot allows two personnel to load it, reduces risk of exposure to COVID-19, and keeps the medic in service, officials said.
The other devices are used to provide hands-free CPR in situations in which firefighters are at risk of disease exposure or CPR has to be momentarily paused. They allow CPR to continue in tight spaces, like going down stairs or around corners.
The devices cost $138,380. The city will obtain this equipment from Stryker through the Ohio Department of Administrative Services purchasing contract.
Middletown Paperboard fencing
Council approved a $31,200 contract with Vickers Demolition to construct perimeter fencing around the former Middletown Paperboard site in the area of North Verity Parkway and Girard Avenue.
Susan Cohen, city administrative services director, said Vickers was one of two bidders for the project to secure the site where significant fire and demolition occurred Jan. 1 that was believed to have been caused by a homeless man who was living there with others.
Last month, Joshua Lamb, 36, pleaded guilty to a charge of arson, a fourth-degree felony. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 20 in Butler County Common Pleas Court.
The property, which transferred to the city in January following tax foreclosure proceedings, encompasses 62 legal parcels. Cohen said recently the Middletown Division of Fire reported there were homeless people living on the property.
She said staff is concerned about safety at the site and the theft of scrap materials that have some value to offset site expenses. Cohen said the city is hoping to market the property for future development.