Committee selects Best1 and Wilkes for county truck-tire service after annual bid review

Rutherford County’s Purchasing Committee approved a one-year arrangement July 15 naming Best 1 and Wilkes as vendors for truck-tire service used by county trucks and roll-off vehicles. Solid Waste staff presented three bids and recommended selecting two vendors, reflecting the department’s practice of designating multiple providers for reliability and backup. Staff said Best 1 and Wilkes currently provide service to the county and that Wilkes offers particularly fast local response to roadside or landfill repair calls; Southern Tire also bid but staff said the county has not used them in two years and that their response process required call-center routing. Committee members asked about the number of vendors solicited and whether additional local providers could perform the work; staff said they solicited three and had not found other local vendors with the necessary capacity. The committee discussed the benefit of mobile service — all three bidders are mobile — and the option of bringing trucks to a shop to avoid some shop fees. Staff recommended awarding the county work to both Best 1 and Wilkes. The committee approved that recommendation by roll call; Commissioner Johnson, Vice Chairman Peay, Commissioner Boyd, Commissioner Gooch, Mr. Phillips, Commissioner McDavid and Chairman Carr voted yes. The committee made the award for one year; staff said vendors requested one-year pricing because tire prices are verified annually. Staff also noted that Wilkes provided faster on-site response and local contacts for billing questions, factors that informed the recommendation. The county will execute one-year agreements with the two vendors and may solicit new bids when the contract term expires.