Commission opens vehicle bids and approves 35 law-enforcement laptops

Berkeley County commissioners opened bids March 27 for two full-size SUVs intended for the county’s transport division and approved a separate purchase of 35 mobile data computers for law enforcement cruisers.

Bid openings: County staff read several bids for two replacement SUVs used in prisoner transport. The lowest listed per-unit price read was $61,965 (Hagerstown Ford, 2024 Ford Expedition); Whiteside Chevrolet (Saint Clairsville, Ohio) submitted a bid listed at $65,207 per SUV ($130,414 for two). Other bids announced in the public opening included a 2025 Chevrolet Suburban bid at $78,205.50 (New Smyrna Beach Chevrolet) and a unit price of $30,989 from Cadet Company LLC (2025 Nissan — county staff noted the Nissan configuration may not meet prisoner-transport needs). Staff did not recommend award during the March 27 meeting; the commission opened the bids publicly and recorded the entries.

Mobile data computers: The commission approved a motion to purchase 35 mobile data computers from Unistar Sparco Computers for $35,945. County staff said the purchase will be covered by an existing law-enforcement grant that originally had been scoped for drones; changes in federal rules prompted re-scoping to in-car computers and related mounting hardware. The commission approved the purchase by voice vote.

Why it matters: County staff said two current Tahoe vehicles approach roughly 50,000 miles and are heavily used for long prisoner transports. Commissioners emphasized safety and suitability for prisoner transport when discussing vehicle specs.

Ending: The commission approved the laptop purchase and took the vehicle bids under advisement after the public opening; staff will return a recommendation for award at a subsequent meeting.