With funding and a contractor in place, a new five-bay ambulance facility is scheduled to break ground in the spring on the Powell Valley Healthcare campus. At a December meeting, Powell Hospital District trustees unanimously approved a $588,000 bid by TNT Contractors of Denver for the project.

The facility will provide additional space for ambulances and complement the current bays, while offering better storage and an aerosol decontamination bay. Currently, they must use the Powell fire hall for any decontamination.

Board members had put the project on hold in early 2022 due to concerns about the cost and a lack of funding. The project had originally been estimated to cost $312,000, but last spring, TNT Contractors bid $477,840 and Buffalo-based Diamond Point Construction Inc. bid $614,845.

The board had hopes costs might come down, but prices have only risen since then.

“Prices are probably 5% higher than last spring,” said Powell Valley Healthcare Director of Facility Management Scott Shopa.

However, the project got a big assist on Dec. 15, when the State Loan and Investment Board approved the hospital’s request for $402,889 towards the ambulance garage. That will be combined with $298,493 of federal funds that Park County commissioners awarded in July 2021.

The combination of funds will cover a garage that the board sees as a needed addition.

“In almost all prices TNT is less [than the other bidders],” Shopa said. “They recently did a project in conjunction with Plan One [Architects], almost the exact same facility, and Plan One said they did an excellent job.”

The approved bid by TNT even includes an extra item — a restroom that board member R.J. Kost said would be an important feature.