Board approves wastewater-equipment purchase contract, subject to attorney review

The Caldwell County Board approved a purchasing contract for equipment for the Colossal wastewater treatment facility, subject to attorney provisions and final contract language.

Andy Pool told the board the meeting included the final contract documents for the equipment purchase and that the board previously approved the contract amount and submitted a distribution request to the state. Pool said the board had been waiting for final revisions and that those revisions arrived the morning of the meeting. He asked the board to approve the purchasing contract for the wastewater equipment contingent on attorney approval. The board moved, seconded and voted to approve the contract; the chair called for the ayes and the motion passed.

Why it matters: The equipment purchase supports the Colossal wastewater treatment project and follows prior approvals and a state distribution request; the contract approval is an important procurement step but was explicitly made subject to attorney provisions and prior state distribution activity.

Details from the meeting: Pool said, "We finally have our final contract documents for the equipment purchase for the Colossal wastewater treatment facility. We've discussed this many times previously. We've just been waiting on the final contract revisions. We've approved our contract, the amount of the contract. We've done our distribution request from the state. There were just some things in the contract we need to get straight away, before our attorney would approve that, but we got that this morning." The motion approved the purchasing contract with the condition that it be subject to attorney provisions.

Process and contingencies: The meeting record indicates the board had previously approved the contract amount and completed a distribution request with the state. The present vote approved the final contract documentation contingent on attorney review; the record does not provide the dollar amount of the contract in the meeting transcript nor specify the attorney’s final changes. The board later entered closed session for confidential personnel matters; no further action on the contract was recorded coming out of closed session.

Ending: The motion passed and the board moved into closed session later in the meeting; no additional contract action is recorded in the public portion of the meeting.