Officials award jail contracts, postpone decision on fire department radio purchase

By Lynn Hotaling

County leaders followed the recommendation of architect Grant Tharp and awarded contracts to the four apparent low bidders. General contractor for the project will be H&M Construction, $3,278,000; plumbing contractor will be Price and Price, $348,000; HVAC will be Interstate Mechanical, $423,264; and electrical, M.B. Haynes Electric, $913,000.

The contracts awarded include construction of a second-story shell to provide for future expansion. Commissioners unanimously approved both a budget ordinance and project ordinance to construct the jail. Because the bids came in over the amount budgeted, several budget amendments were necessary to get all the money in place before bids were let, said Darlene Fox, county finance officer.

Amounts added to the jail fund included $400,000 from contingency and $225,000 from fund balance. An additional $154,161 was added from interest income, and $155,000 was available because site preparation costs were under budget. The final $325,000 came from the already-budgeted jail contingency fund. A total of $1,259,161 was added to the $4,850,000 borrowed in early 2000, bringing total project cost, including construction, furnishings and archictect fees, to $5,819,661.

A contract for furniture for the new jail was also awarded. Commissioners awarded the contract to the highest bidder, Klingman Williams, at a cost of $78,322. Architect Anderson Evans' analysis of the three furniture bids revealed that the lower two bidders, Interior Systems Inc., and KI, failed to meet warranty requirements or included incorrect furnishings.

With regard to another set of bids, those received March 8 for new radios for the county's volunteer firefighters and emergency services coordinator, commissioners did not award the contract. County leaders were unable to reach a decision because the fire departments' radio committee did not recommend accepting the lowest bid.

After lengthy discussion, Commissioner Stacy Buchanan moved to table the matter until bids could be reviewed by county attorneys. His motion passed 3-1, with Commissioner Roberta Crawford casting the dissenting vote; Commissioner Franz Whitmire was not present.

Whitley Communication Service of Asheville was the apparent low bidder at $109,178 to supply and program 166 UHF FM 40-watt portable walkies, 93 UHF FM 40-watt mobile units and one UHF 100-watt mobile unit; however, Savannah Fire Chief Darrell Woodard, told commissioners that the radio committee, made up of representatives from all fire departments except Sylva, recommends awarding the contract to Western Carolina Communication of Dillsboro, which offered a bid of $131, 522. Because the county does not pay sales tax, Western Carolina's bid is actually $124,078, said Darlene Fox, county finance officer.

Western Carolina is the only bid that meets all the specifications for the units, Woodard said. A March 15 review of all five bids received, prepared by Mike Ensley, county emergency services coordinator, also indicates that Western Carolina is the only one to meet all bid specs.

The confusion resulted from an additional written communication Ensley received March 19 from Whitley that seems to indicate the company does plan to furnish units that meet specifications. North Carolina's competitive bid law requires local governments to provide well-documented reasons when the lowest bid is not accepted, said County Manager Jay Denton, and Commissioner Buchanan suggested postponing a decision until the matter could be reviewed by attorneys.

Attorney Diane Sherrill, sitting in for absent county attorney Raymond Large, offered no opinion as to the validity of the letter from Whitley. She did say that after-the-fact clarifications to bids are legal, but additions or modifications are not.

Crawford voted against tabling the matter, she said, because she thought commissioners should have awarded the contract to Western Carolina.

"I feel like we're listening to the experts," she said of Woodard and the other firefighters in attendance. "If they feel that strongly, there must be a reason."

In addition to Whitley's bid not meeting specifications, Woodard expressed concern that service wouldn't be as prompt or efficient when dealing with a company located in Asheville. Whitley's bid provides that in the event of a problem with a unit, a technician will come to Sylva and pick it up within 48 hours and take it in for repairs. But if Western Carolina receives the contract, Woodard said, the company's Dillsboro location and full-time technician would expedite repairs.

Woodard also cited a recent problem that was initially believed to be a radio malfunction but was actually a bad cable. Western Carolina looked at the unit in the truck and was able to diagnose the problem. Had they been dealing with Whitley, Woodard said, the radio would have been removed from the truck and taken to Asheville where it would have checked out fine, resulting in a several-day delay before the problem could be pinpointed and repaired.

"We're all taxpayers," Woodard said. "Our money is going to pay for this, too. Sometimes getting the cheapest is not the best."

When commissioners explained their dilemma with regard to state statutes on competitive bids, Woodard said that, in his opinion, Western Carolina's initial bid is the only one to meet all specs and that is reason enough to award them the contract.

Donald Clawson, former county emergency services coordinator and Western Carolina Communications co-owner, was present Tuesday night. When he formulated his bid, he said, he included the expense of several visits, probably at night, to each of the county's fire departments.

While such visits perhaps should have been specified in bid documents, Denton said, they were not, and Whitley's bid appears to contain all the required elements.

"This board wants to do the right thing," Denton said. "We want to get the right equipment. We want to help but we have to follow the law."

With regard to bids taken March 8 for construction of a new radio tower on Kings Mountain, the contract was awarded to the low bidder, Whitley Communications, at $3,795, at Ensley's recommendation. Communication Service bid $4,090 and Western Carolina bid $9,100. That motion carried 3 to 1, with Crawford again voting "no."

Back to Archive: 03/22/01.