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Commissioners approve pre-purchase of highway truck, ban rollover bids; staff briefed on fuel card rollout and Highway 421 closures
Summary
Decatur County commissioners approved buying a single-axle highway truck out of current appropriations and voted not to allow rollover bids for road-related contracts. Highway staff updated the board on a new fuel-card system and an upcoming multi-week closure on Highway 421 near Gas Creek.
Decatur County commissioners on Feb. 3 approved the pre-purchase of a single-axle highway truck and voted to end the county—s practice of allowing vendors to roll over bid prices from prior years.
The board approved a motion to pre-purchase the available single-axle truck so the county can avoid a two-year lead time for ordering new equipment. Highway Superintendent Todd Howe told commissioners the price of the truck is roughly $160,000 and that additional outfitting (paint, decals, dump pad and other work) will add costs; the board approved taking the funds from existing appropriations in the highway department.
Howe also presented several program updates and procurement items. He said the county will start issuing fuel cards tied to the highway department—s bulk purchase program so departmental fuel charges will route through the county fuel account instead of individual reimbursement claims. IT staffer Josh Dressler told the board the system is configured and the county will begin distributing cards to departments soon.
Why it matters: Commissioners said replacing aging equipment now can avoid costly emergency purchases and long delivery lead times, and ending rollover bids is intended to encourage active competition each year.
Supporting details: Howe said the single-axle truck offered to the county was available now, avoiding a two-year wait if ordered new. He told the board the truck will support snow removal and other highway functions and described additional outfitting costs: about $6,000 to repaint and an additional amount for dump-pad installation. Commissioners discussed using funds from the highway—s bituminous appropriation and other local reserves to cover the purchase.
On procurement, the board voted that no bidders would be allowed to automatically roll over prior-year bid prices for fuel and related contracts; commissioners instructed staff to re-advertise bids on Feb. 14. Howe said the county has two 2,000-gallon storage tanks (one for off-road diesel and one for unleaded) and said bulk truck deliveries could reduce per-gallon cost if the county commits to large quantities.
Howe also gave an update on state road work affecting the county. He said multiple pipes and a bridge on Highway 421 will be replaced and the Gas Creek bridge near Five Points will have a planned 30-to-45-day closure; the project is scheduled to be let in October 2025. Commissioners asked staff to demand a clear maintenance-of-traffic plan and reimbursement agreement for any county road damage that results from state detours.
No public cost-sharing vote was required; motions to approve the truck purchase and to prohibit rollover bids were both made and carried by voice vote.
Ending: Staff said they would notify departments about fuel-card rollout and return with final contract and outfitting numbers when available. Howe will provide specific truck serial/year details and a finalized appropriation schedule to the board at a later meeting.
