Ambulance site getting prepped while supporters have their backs

Work is progressing on the site of the future Hill City Ambulance building. 

People driving by the site this week may have noticed some large machinery, including a Cat 320 excavator with a drill head on it, a Cat 316 with a modified rock breaker on it and a Cat 279 skid loader.

The machinery was needed to do specialized ground stabilization work on the site.

Bill Miner, who sits on the ambulance board,  says American Engineering and Testing did soil borings on the site last summer. 

“We knew what the soil types were and then our structural engineer, Mike Albertson of Albertson Engineering in Rapid City,  said this type of foundation would be the best,” Miner said.

In came Geopier, an Iowa-based company, with all its heavy machinery,  to do the specialized ground stabilization.

The process includes drilling holes and putting rock in. The holes then get tamped for 20 seconds, which stabilizes the ground. The process allows for a more secure foundation, so that it doesn’t shift, move or sink. 

Seventy five holes were created for this site. The center slab holes are drilled as deep as  eight feet.

Miner said now the site sits for 30 to 60 days. 

“They’ll monitor the elevations to make sure that  there’s no settling and change,” Miner said. Once that’s done, gravel will be spread and compacted and concrete will be poured.  Miner said there is testing throughout the process.

Lloyd Companies has the bid for the entirety of the project. 

“It will  come together pretty quickly,” Miner said, with the stick-built building going up before winter and the interior of the structure completed by April 2025.

The financing for the project was secured by the ambulance district through Black Hills Community Bank. The project is being paid for by a 10-year tax levy, meaning those living in the district will notice  additional opt-out funds on their property tax bills. 

The Hill City Ambulance District serves 386 square-miles from the Wyoming border to Sheridan Lake and to the Custer County line. Ninety percent of the district is Forest Service and the Black Hills National Forest does not give the district any funds. 

“Only 10 percent of that area pays for these services,” Miner said, yet the ambulance responds to all calls in the district, even those taking place on forest land.

The district is a governmental entity of the state. By state law its budget has to match its expenditures. However it is not considered essential by the state,  the way fire coverage is.

“It’s really very sad,” Miner said, as he explains, for example,  how people in east Meade County currently have to cross over to Pennington County before calling an ambulance so Rapid City can respond.

The service treats anyone who calls and seeks reimbursement from insurance when possible. Medicare and Medicaid reimburse the service at rates based on the type of call, but Miner admits, “we don’t get what we actually bill and we have to accept that,” he said.

The Supporters of the Hill City Ambulance Fund are still raising money for the building. Lori Comer said the supporters are currently  selling T-shirts that  say “Hill City Emergency Services” on the front and on the back it says “Fire Rescue.” They come in white and black small through 3XL. The 3XL are $35 each; the other sizes are $30.

All the money raised will go to the Hill City Ambulance Building Fund. The supporters have raised around $366,000, thus far.

“Never in a million years” did Craig Comer think that much money would be raised. 

“I was hoping we would raise $50,000,” Comer said.

“There are some very very generous people,” Comer said, including one donor who gave $200,000 to pay off the debt to pay for the ambulance land. 

“Everything else has been a buck at a time,” he said.

The next big supporters event is Hilltoberfest Oct. 13 at the Hill City Center featuring donated authentic German food from Alpine Inn and drinks from HippieRockstar. 

There is also ongoing fundraising via the four Star of Life trees around town. 

“We still could use some people to step up and donate...some beds is one of the bigger things we’re missing, and a storage shed and a carport are some of the bigger items,” Comer said. 

Tree locations are Gypsy Rose Gallery, Elizabeths, First Impressions and Horse Creek Salon and Spa.

For more information please visit supportershca.org/