Richland County approves series of maintenance, equipment and bridge engineering contracts

Richland County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a package of maintenance and capital expenditures, including a fourth change order on a county common-area restroom project, pavement and drainage repairs, a quoted replacement dryer for the county jail and two bridge engineering contracts.

The approvals came during the commissioners' May 20 meeting after presentations from Josh Hicks, the county's maintenance superintendent, and routine motions by board members. Hicks described the change order as related to unplanned basement work and electrical updates on the land bank common-area restroom project and said the change would add 14 days to the contract's completion timeline. "There was a couple of rooms in the basement that we went ahead and made some changes to that wasn't drawings," Hicks said.

The board approved the change order by voice vote. Commissioners recorded their votes in the meeting as "Yes" from Commissioner Tony Vero, Commissioner Meyers and Commissioner Banks.

The board also approved a $4,100 contract with Firdi Construction to repair a sinking head basin on Madison Avenue; two seal-coating quotes from Coleman Asphalt — $8,000 for the Richland County Jail and county maintenance garage and $600 for the Title and Engineer's office on Fourth and Mulberry — and a quoted replacement dryer for the jail from Advantage Equipment for $7,495. "On Madison Avenue, there's a head basin that's sinking, and it's cracked out right in the corner of the driveway," Hicks said when presenting the Firdi estimate. The commissioners moved and approved the repairs and equipment purchases using capital and jail equipment line items where indicated.

The board approved two engineering consultant agreements presented by the county engineer's office: an agreement with Greenman Peterson to design work on Town Line Road (listed in the meeting as $49,852) and an administrative services agreement with K. E. McCartney for Corson Road bridge work (listed as $108,000). Both contracts were approved on motions with recorded "Yes" votes from the commissioners.

The meeting record shows routine procedural votes on the items; no dissenting votes or formal amendments to the procurement approvals were recorded in the transcript beyond the 14-day extension tied to the change order. The board also approved the hiring of a seasonal maintenance worker, Sebastian Page, at $15 per hour for 40 hours per week beginning May 22 through his return to school in August, a personnel motion presented by Hicks and carried by voice vote.

The approvals are funded from the county's capital and designated equipment line items as presented during the meeting. Meeting materials and staff indicated the jail replacement dryer was budgeted in the jail equipment line; other items were approved out of the capital fund.

Approvals concluded without extended debate on the maintenance agenda items. The board moved on to other business after the votes.