County approves $60,980 rescue truck purchase; funding shifted to gaming account after state law change

Woodbury County supervisors on Wednesday approved purchase of a new rescue truck from Berry Motor for $60,980, to be paid from county gaming funds after a change in state law restricted use of Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funds for vehicle purchases. Supervisor Matthew Nelson moved the purchase and Supervisor Carper seconded; the motion passed 4-0. The rescue vehicle will be procured for Emergency Services operations.

The vote follows a competitive solicitation. Emergency services representative Drew Beyer presented three bids, saying Berry Motor’s quote was $60,980 and Jensen Ford’s bid was $59,001.97; he said a third bidder’s figure lacked two required specifications. “That is correct. $60,980,” Beyer confirmed when the board asked about the Berry Motor price.

The board discussed how to pay for the truck after learning of a statutory change. Budget Director Ryan Erickson and Supervisor Nelson said a recent change in state law (referred to in the meeting as House File 718) removed the county’s prior ability to use CIP funds to buy vehicles. Nelson said the county had previously set aside $90,300 in CIP for the truck and proposed taking the purchase from gaming funds, then reallocating the $90,300 to another CIP project later — for example, Little Sioux Park — to keep project spending in balance.

Supervisor Matthew Nelson framed the issue as a policy shift: “In the new state legislation House File 718 … they changed that code section that we cannot use CIP to purchase vehicles anymore. We have to do it with cash,” he said. Budget Director Ryan Erickson confirmed staff had discussed the legal change with outside counsel and was pursuing an internal reallocation to preserve planned CIP work.

Board members asked about bidding rules and whether the county must accept the lowest bid. The county attorney’s office was cited in discussion of procurement language; the board noted the county’s solicitation allowed accepting the bid “most advantageous to the county” rather than automatically the low bid, permitting selection of the Berry Motor offer despite another lower priced bid.

The board approved the purchase by motion (moved by Supervisor Matthew Nelson; seconded by Supervisor Carper) with a recorded voice vote of 4-0. No amendments were made to the purchase motion. Beyer and Erickson told the board staff would proceed with contract steps and the finance office would implement the funding shuffle discussed by the board.

The board’s discussion also flagged potential downstream budget work to reallocate CIP funds and to confirm compliance with the state statute cited during the meeting. No additional formal actions were taken beyond the purchase approval.