Commissioners award sheriff's office renovation contracts; debate over Responsible Contractor Ordinance

The Center County Board of Commissioners awarded contracts for renovations at the Southern County Sheriff's Office and engaged in a substantive debate over the county’s Responsible Contractor Ordinance (RCO). After staff recommended contracting general construction work to GM McCrossin for $191,000, electrical work to GM McCrossin for $212,240 and mechanical/plumbing to Allied Mechanical and Electrical for $175,000, the board voted to approve those contracts.

Jonathan (county staff) presented the bids and recommended awarding the three contracts to the firms and amounts listed. The staff summary stated multiple bids were received. One lower-priced bidder for general construction—TMG Builders—submitted a $176,000 bid but was found unable to meet the county’s RCO requirements, so the board proceeded with the next responsive bidder.

Commissioner Dershow questioned the result and urged the board to waive the RCO for this project. “That doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I would ask that we waive this RCO requirement for this project… Ultimately, this is $29,000. And $29,000, it's real money,” Dershow said, noting prior satisfactory experience with TMG and questioning why the county would accept a higher-priced bidder when a lower bid existed.

A county official (staff) explained the purpose of the RCO: training requirements intended to ensure quality and to allow the county to avoid automatically awarding contracts to the lowest bidder, which the official said can reduce the risk of poor performance and later change orders. “The responsible contractor ordinance is used by a broad variety of groups throughout the United States… and I know there are many, many county commissioners in Pennsylvania who loathe bid openings because they know there's a chance… that the low bidder is somebody they don't like dealing with,” the staff member said.

After discussion, a motion to approve the three contracts was made and seconded; the board approved the awards by voice vote. The approved contract amounts total approximately $578,240. The transcript records objections from Dershow and discussion about the RCO’s intent and past county experience with change orders and project overruns, but the board did not waive the RCO for this award.

This action commits funds for construction, electrical, and mechanical work on the sheriff’s office renovation. The record reflects ongoing disagreement among commissioners over the RCO’s costs and benefits; the county staff defended the ordinance as a tool to ensure trained workers and to let the county consider contractor qualifications in addition to price.