County approves two-year on-call engineering agreement with SJCA

The Vermillion County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a two-year, on-call professional services agreement with SJCA on Jan. 5 that allows the county or highway department to issue task orders for civil engineering and bridge preservation work.

SJCA representative Josh Gaskell told the board the agreement contains no guaranteed payment; the company will perform work only after the county issues a task order and approves a cost estimate. Commissioners discussed how the county's roughly $40,000 engineering line may be used to fund task orders and whether the highway board of directors or commissioners would authorize specific task orders.

Why it matters: Authorizing on-call agreements streamlines procurement for emergent or small engineering assignments — surveys, small bridge work or a boat-launch survey — without requiring a formal board action for every job, while preserving pre-approval of cost estimates before work begins.

Details from the meeting: Gaskell noted the agreement's default term is two years (Section 12). County officials confirmed task orders will require a named signer before any work proceeds; internal processes (highway board management of the line item, or commissioner approval depending on where funds are held) will determine who signs task orders. Commissioners noted the county could sign multiple on-call agreements to have several firms available.

Votes: Motion to approve the SJCA agreement passed unanimously. The board did not specify dollar amounts for any pending task order at the meeting.

Quote: "That's a 2 year agreement," Gaskell told the board when asked about term length. (Recorded on the meeting transcript.)

Next steps: County and highway staff will clarify which department budget line will house the $40,000 engineering allocation, and internal signatory procedures for task orders.