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Rutherford County awards body-removal contract to Triangle after rebid
Summary
The county approved a procurement recommendation to award the RFP for medical-examiner body removal and transport to Triangle after finding the competing bidder lacked required automobile insurance and other documentation.
Rutherford County purchasing officials recommended and the commission approved awarding the county’s RFP for body removal and transport to Triangle, after a competing bidder failed to supply required insurance documentation.
County procurement staff said the RFP was rebid after officials discovered the county lacked a formal contract and records showing prior authorization for the existing provider. Denise (procurement staff) told the committee the rebid was prompted by a price increase from the incumbent and by missing paperwork, including an Iran divestment form and required insurance certificates.
The recommendation mattered because the service is used by emergency medical services and the medical examiner to transport decedents to the forensic center in Nashville. “One of the bidders, Tri Eagle, provided all the documents; the other bidder did not,” Denise said while summarizing the review; later in the meeting staff recommended moving forward with the Triangle bid because the competing firm—identified in the bid as Middle Tennessee Removal Service (MTRS)—did not include the county’s required $1,000,000 automobile insurance.
Triangle’s bid quoted $275 per decedent, $50 for additional personnel needed in a mass-fatality event, and $2.50 per loaded mile for trips outside Rutherford County. MTRS’s bid listed $200 per decedent, $100 for additional personnel and $3.25 per loaded mile. Procurement staff said out‑of‑county pickups occur rarely but the requirement remained in the RFP.
After staff recommended Triangle because its response included the required insurance and documentation, a motion to approve the recommendation passed on a roll call in which Commissioners Phillips, McAfee, Johnson, Peay, Boyd, Gooch and Chairman Carr voted yes.
The approval directs procurement to finalize a contract with Triangle consistent with the RFP terms and required insurance; staff said the rebid process was intended to correct a multi‑year lapse in formal contracting and to standardize requirements going forward.
Officials did not identify a formal effective date in the meeting and said the county will complete contract paperwork and required administrative steps before the vendor begins service under this new agreement.
