Cooke County splits fuel awards, requires monitoring and a vendor fallback plan

The Cooke County Commissioners voted unanimously to award at‑the‑pump fuel to Red River Co‑op and to split bulk deliveries—gas by Red River and diesel by Offen—with a fallback provision that if a vendor declines delivery the county will contract with the alternate supplier.

Commissioners spent an extended portion of the meeting discussing the bid structure (at‑the‑pump versus delivered product), differences in tax and margin lines on vendor bids, and whether vendors provide remote electronic monitoring at unattended tower sites. "If they will deliver bulk one without the other, split it," one commissioner proposed; another commissioner pushed for a fallback that would move all business to the alternate vendor if a first‑choice vendor refused delivery.

The court also directed staff to change bid specifications to require remote monitoring on pumps serving remote sites. Commissioners cited logistical needs at tower locations and the accounting benefit of a single at‑the‑pump vendor for some sites but accepted splitting deliveries to obtain the overall low price and to preserve service continuity.

The motion passed 5–0. Commissioners said staff and the auditor’s office will handle billing and the operational details of vendor engagement and monitoring implementation.