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Saline County approves exception to competitive bidding to separate electrical service at old jail
Summary
The Saline County Board of Commissioners approved an exception to the county purchasing policy to hire Precision Electrical to install a new transformer and separate electrical service between the old jail and court services, with authority for the county administrator to approve up to $25,000 in unforeseen costs.
The Saline County Board of Commissioners approved an exception to the county purchasing policy on Feb. 11 to hire Precision Electrical to separate electrical service between the old jail and the court services portion of the building and to install a new transformer outside court services.
Deputy County Administrator Hannah Bette told commissioners staff had worked with Precision Electrical, which has an established working history with the building, and that contractors identified electrical issues affecting the two sides. Bette said a competitive request-for-proposal process could take up to 120 days and would require staff time to bring in a subject-matter expert to write technical specifications.
Precision Electrical’s proposal was described in the meeting transcript as a “bid price of $6,067,955 dollars,” and staff asked that the county administrator be given authority to expend up to $25,000 above that base bid to cover unforeseen circuit cross‑connect work. Commissioners pressed staff on whether more local electrical contractors could be asked to provide bids or walkthroughs; proponents said the building’s complexity and the desire to avoid delay in face of potential storm damage weighed in favor of an exception.
Commissioner discussion stressed avoiding further damage to the old jail, preserving staff time and ensuring immediate availability of a contractor. After discussion and a public comment period in which no members of the public spoke, the board approved RFA 2025‑26, granting the exception and authorizing staff to move forward with Precision Electrical. The motion carried unanimously.
The action allows Precision Electrical to start work immediately, subject to the specified not‑to‑exceed manager authorization for unforeseen costs. Commissioners requested that staff monitor costs and the schedule and report back if additional funds or contract changes become necessary.
Clarifying details from the meeting record indicate the contractor proposal figure and the $25,000 contingency were reported on the record; the transcript contains the numeric values as read in the meeting and staff cautioned that some figures came from an on‑site assessment and that there are remaining unknowns in the circuits.
The county did not vote on any alternative to proceed with a competitive bid at this meeting; staff said that option remained if the commission chose it in the future.
