Cole County Commissioners on Oct. 28 approved a set of consent and operational items outside the health‑insurance discussion.

Key approvals included:
- An academic affiliation agreement with SSM Health to permit county EMT students to complete clinical rotations at SSM facilities; county staff said legal review raised no concerns.
- Purchase of two Osage Super Warrior Type‑1 ambulances, quoted at $339,292 per unit for a total of $678,584; staff said this purchase is part of the fleet replacement plan and is included in the 2026 budget but the vendor was ready to begin production.
- Participation agreement for the state's public safety recruitment and retention program that would allow the county to accept funds for trainees who attend county EMT classes.
- FY25 bulletproof vest grant application totaling $17,005 with a 50% reimbursement provision (county to seek $8,502.50 reimbursement under the grant).
- Budget adjustment number 6 (one‑time grant accounting item) for $12,587 and a motion approving a one‑time payout of 240 hours of comp time for a single Public Works employee; both motions passed.

Votes on these items were taken on the record by voice and passed with the commission's affirmative votes. Commissioners discussed timing for ambulance delivery, confirmed the purchases align with cooperative contract pricing and accepted staff's recommendation that the affiliation agreement expand clinical training capacity for EMT students.

Ending note: Staff will finalize contract signatures, schedule ambulance production and manage grant filings; the public‑safety recruitment agreement enables the county's EMS training program to accept student support under the state program when eligible participants apply.