Cole County approves equipment purchases, awards stormwater contract and authorizes jail backflow replacement

Cole County commissioners approved multiple procurement items at the Dec. 24 meeting, including purchases for Public Works, a stormwater contract award and a small maintenance authorization for the old jail.

Public Works requested approval to purchase a Superior broom mid-mount street sweeper to add to the county fleet; staff said the unit is more effective for sweeping during paving, chip sealing, shoulder work and storm cleanup. The commission approved the purchase at a quoted cost of $92,302 from Martin Equipment Company; staff said the item was included in the county's proposed 2025 budget.

The commission also approved the purchase of a Ford F-550 4x4 cab and chassis from Joe Machens Ford Lincoln at $71,125 on state contract. Public Works said the chassis will replace an older unit (truck number 240) that will be declared surplus; the county plans to obtain the spreader and plow under a separate state contract and then build the truck bed in-house.

Bids opened Dec. 20 for the Galena Drive stormwater improvements (Project No. 2024-205-1); the low responsive bid was TB Dozing & Excavation LLC at $64,699.90, below the engineer's estimate of $66,000. Public Works recommended award of the base bid, and the commission executed the construction contract. Staff said the stormwater project will be funded with ARPA dollars.

For the old jail building, staff reported that parts for the existing steel backflow device are no longer available; the county authorized Greg Camp to order a full backflow replacement at a quoted price of $4,970 so the device can continue serving the courthouse and old jail plumbing systems.

The commission also approved accounts payable as presented by voice vote.

All procurement motions were approved by voice vote; the transcript contains standard "aye" responses but does not show detailed roll-call tallies for each item.