Crawford County Commission opens jail boiler bids, approves grants, appointments and tractor purchase

At its February meeting, the Crawford County Commission opened bids for a hot‑water boiler replacement at the Crawford County Jail and moved forward on a string of routine actions, including appointments, grant renewals for juvenile programs and approval of a purchase agreement for a John Deere tractor.

The bidding process drew four vendors and a range of proposals: mechanical contractors offered single‑unit replacements and multi‑unit tankless options with prices read into the record ranging from roughly $20,943 to $34,315 for single‑unit proposals and $26,924 to $33,488 for multi‑unit or system upgrades. The commission did not select a vendor at the meeting; instead the commission chair recommended the bids be given to the county project manager for a technical comparison and a recommendation.

The bids and next steps matter for jail operations because the existing system is less efficient and, in some proposals, lacks redundancy: one contractor’s system design would use three tankless units so that the failure of a single unit would leave two functioning heaters to serve the jail while repairs are arranged. Commissioners scheduled a follow‑up work session with the project manager for the next Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. to review the submissions and return with a recommendation.

The commiss…