The Nodaway County Ambulance Board approved the purchase of a portable shelter during its regular meeting March 14.

The 20-foot by 20-foot shelter will be purchased from Zumro Shelters, Pompano Beach, FL, for $22,004. Insurance adjusted the amount it will give the district to $21,504. The district had a $500 deductible.

Unit 139 had an issue with the automatic step. The step is under warranty and staff has ordered the necessary parts.

Unit 133 has been repaired.

There are five new responders in the Barnard and Guilford area. They have requested an AED.

John Barkley, Northwest Missouri Regional EMS, is writing grants to get heating and air conditioning for the portable shelter. This would allow the shelter to be zipped up to others in incidents, increasing the size.

There are a total of six new responders in the district and nine new members in the mass causality rescue squad. Due to the increase in responders, the district needs to purchase more pagers. The board approved the purchase of pagers from Haug Communication, Savannah, for $479 per pager.

Erin Keith was hired as a part-time employee.

There will be a kick-off meeting for the joint 911 project from 8 am to 5 pm, March 27, at the Nodaway County Administration Center.

Quarterly CPR classes were on March 15 and the Emergency Medical Responder class was March 17. The emergency vehicle course can utilize the old Energizer parking lot.

Former squad member Bryan Sobotka addressed the board with concerns. Some of his concerns included not having a mission statement on the district’s website, the website layout and functionality, district growth, appreciation for rescue squad members and employee issues.

Andy Peterson, a part-time employee, addressed the board about handling scene time with his job.

Employee Morgan Wheeler addressed the board with concerns on staff morale.

Employee Jill Nielson told the board she felt the district has come a long way since she started.

The board took all concerns into consideration; no action was taken.

The April meeting was moved to Monday, April 9 at 7:30 pm.