By David Fleet
Editor
Groveland Twp. — By May the township will have a new ambulance on the road.
Earlier this year a 2023 Chevrolet ambulance was delivered to Fire Station Two. The four-wheel drive, gas powered vehicle was purchased from Wheeled Coach and will replace a current unit with 208,000 miles. After inspections the ambulance will be in service later this spring.
On Jan. 10, 2022 the township board of trustees voted 5-0 to purchase the new ambulance.
The cost was $160,000.
The ambulance is just one of several projects that qualify to be funded by the American Rescue Plan Act. Signed into in March 2021, the fund provides $350 billion in relief to states and local governments to fight the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The township currently has about $593,000 in ARPA funds that could be used on local projects.
In 2022, the GTFD responded to 950 calls down from 2021 where there were 1,176 calls—a record number township calls since the Village of Holly was part of the coverage area, said GTFD Chief Kevin Mason. When the village was in the coverage area in 2016 and 2017 the GTFD responded to 1,382 and 1,227 calls.