Supervisors debate requiring certificates of insurance for vendors, tenants and volunteers

Safety coordinator Renee Kerry told the board she has had difficulty obtaining certificates of insurance from some Heritage Center tenants and small contractors and proposed adding clear certificate-of-insurance requirements to bid and lease documents so staff can verify coverage before payment.

"My goal is now to get them all in alphabetical order and into a spreadsheet so a office has them so they can check that spreadsheet before we pay somebody," Kerry said, describing a plan for centralized tracking of certificates.

Board members discussed coverage levels. Several participants described a $2 million umbrella and $1 million general-liability approach as the county’s current standard for contractors and tenants; supervisors questioned whether that threshold should apply to volunteer groups or small community projects such as Eagle Scout work. Supervisors agreed to direct staff to research how other counties handle volunteer and small-project insurance, including whether the county should be named as an additional insured in those arrangements.

The exchange covered whether lease tenants who operate on county property (including state agencies housed in the Heritage Center) should provide certificates and how to manage subs and subcontractors for public works projects. No binding change to the policy was adopted at the meeting; the discussion concluded with staff assigned to follow up and provide recommended language for future bid and lease documents.

The board approved the broader package of policies and leases later in the agenda, and the insurance-certificate discussion will be reflected in forthcoming bid and lease templates if staff follow through on the requested research.