Scotland County advances RFQ for $6.5 million EMS headquarters, seeks state guidance on grant terms

Scotland County staff told commissioners on June 11 that the county has been awarded a $6.5 million legislative grant to build a new EMS headquarters and is moving into the procurement and design phase.

County manager April Sneed said site planning has been completed and the county issued a request for qualifications for a design-build firm; nine RFQ responses were returned. The county has spent about $103,000 from the grant to date on site planning.

Sneed recommended the county continue scoring applicants and hold interviews while seeking formal guidance from the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) about allowable expenditures and the risk of having to repay funds if the project deviates from the grant purpose. She said staff had reached out to OSBM and would report back at the next meeting.

"We received a legislative grant for $6.5 million to build a new EMS headquarters and we are moving forward with that," Sneed told the board, adding that the next procurement steps are review, scoring and interviews with shortlisted firms.

Commissioners noted the grant term has a legislative extension through June 30, 2027, and emphasized caution: if the county were to spend funds that later are judged not to meet the grant conditions, the state can seek repayment. Staff said it is possible to seek another legislative extension should the project require more time to complete.

Staff estimated a reasonable procurement and selection timetable would allow scoring and initial interviews within about three months if the board elects to proceed swiftly. Commissioners and staff agreed continuing the RFQ evaluation while securing OSBM guidance balanced project momentum with fiscal prudence.

Provenance: Topic began with April Sneed's presentation (SEG 601) and was discussed through SEG 866 where procurement next steps and repayment risk were considered.