Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sheriff Equipment Contracts topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sheriff’s Office seeks renewals and short trials for rescue, drone detection and blood-draw services
Summary
Spokane County Sheriff’s Office briefed commissioners on a no-cost RECCO renewal for avalanche detection, a two-week DroneTag trial to detect drones, a low-cost Providence contract for legal blood draws, and a reimbursement arrangement with the Criminal Justice Training Commission for staff time on curriculum development.
Sheriff Dave Ellis told the Spokane County Board of County Commissioners on May 20 that the sheriff’s office is bringing several operational contracts and trials forward, including a no-cost renewal for RECCO avalanche-detection equipment, a two‑week trial of DroneTag’s drone-detection system and a low-cost contract with Providence for legal blood draws.
The sheriff said the RECCO renewal has been reviewed by legal and carries no cost. He described RECCO as a device used in search-and-rescue that “emits a signal for avalanche victims” so rescuers can detect buried people wearing compatible equipment.
Ellis said the DroneTag arrangement is a two‑week test to evaluate whether the product helps the office locate operators of drones that may be flown illegally or to harass people. “If we decide that we like it, the product cost, I think it’s $1,100,” he said; he added that legal reviewed the indemnification language and that the trial carries no upfront cost for the county.
On blood draws, Ellis said Providence offered a contract to perform “legal blood draws” (for example, for DUI or search-warrant cases) at a reimbursed rate the sheriff described as $13.24 per draw; the sheriff’s office estimated it used Providence about five times in the prior year and said the contract would be low cost overall. Ellis said the county is training deputies to perform legal blood draws and installing an evidence refrigerator at the Public Safety Building basement to manage evidence storage.
Separately, county staff reported on an existing arrangement with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) in which the county reimburses up to 50% of a Spokane County employee’s salary for work the employee performs onsite at CJTC to develop the statewide Basic Law Enforcement Academy curriculum. County staff described the salary portion tied to that agreement as roughly $996,765 plus benefits and said CJTC reimburses roughly half of the assigned employee’s time; the county then uses those reimbursements to fund related deputy or assistant roles at the county facility.
Commissioners asked how frequently each contract or trial is used and whether the items will fit into department budgets. No formal board votes were recorded during the briefing.
Ellis said the items would return for formal action as required by county procurement or when the department seeks purchase or continuing service authorization.
