At a Woodbury County meeting, county staff presented five vendor quotes for a new rescue truck and the board voted to receive the bids, with staff announcing one submission would be excluded for failing to comply with sealed-bid instructions.

Drew Bywood, Retirement Services Director, told supervisors he solicited sealed bids for a 2026 Ford F-250 crew cab built to county specification. Bywood read the five quotes aloud and said one vendor sent an emailed document instead of a sealed envelope as required; he recommended that emailed submission not be accepted as part of the procurement.

Bywood said the five vendors quoted these totals (as read to the board): Barry Motors — corrected total $60,980; Jensen Motors — $59,167; Citi Ford — $60,500; Stivers (quote labeled in the record) — $58,650; plus one vendor whose emailed submission did not follow the sealed-envelope rules and therefore was excluded from consideration. Bywood told the board he declined to accept emailed bids because the solicitation required sealed envelopes marked for the vehicle bid and delivered by mail or in person.

Board members agreed that bids that did not follow the published instructions should not be considered. Bittinger moved to receive the bids for the new rescue truck; Nelson seconded. The board voted to receive the bids; the motion carried unanimously (5–0). The board did not award the purchase at the meeting and Bywood said he would return next week with a final recommendation after verifying specifications and confirming each remaining bid matched the county’s spec.

The presentation included an operational justification for selecting a Ford product: Bywood said Ford was the only vendor that allowed removal of two-thirds of the rear seat to accommodate a cab insert that secures equipment and reduces the risk that loose equipment would injure occupants in a crash. He said the department previously purchased a cab insert and that the Ford option let the department keep the equipment secured in a single location.

Bywood also requested that the record be corrected: he said an earlier figure he read from Barry Motors had been misstated and should be amended to $60,980; the board accepted that correction. The board’s action at the meeting was to receive the bids for further review, not to award a contract.

The board directed staff to return with final verification of specs and a recommendation at the next meeting.