Commission reviews draft design‑build procurement policy, seeks clarifications and state alignment

Clay County commissioners spent the largest portion of their meeting discussing a draft design‑build procurement policy presented by Tyler Biley, a representative of Taker Group. The presentation outlined statutory requirements for adopting a procurement policy, steps for publishing a request for qualifications (RFQ), and options for handling prequalification and bid opening procedures.

The policy matters because it sets the county’s process for hiring design‑builders for construction projects, establishes when and how the county can require prequalification, and determines how price and qualitative scores are combined to choose a contractor. Biley told the commission the policy must be in place before the county publishes RFQs and that the statute contemplates receiving at least three qualified firms before proceeding to price proposals and…