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Commissioners approve wide range of procurement awards and sole-source contracts; tie bids resolved by public drawing
Summary
The board approved a series of procurement actions including a $484,653 street sweeper, road-salt contracts, equipment purchases, renewals and several sole-source awards. Tie bids were resolved by public drawings where required by county procurement policy.
At a single session the Washington County commissioners approved a series of procurement awards, sole-source contracts and intergovernmental cooperative purchases covering public works, emergency services, airport operations and information technology.
Highlights recorded on the meeting record include:
- Intergovernmental cooperative purchase INTG-25-0208: a 2026 Schwarze AATE street sweeper from Atlantic Machinery Inc. of Silver Spring for $484,653 to serve the Department of Stormwater and Watershed Services. Funding was identified in the drainage/stormwater capital account DNG039; the board approved the purchase by resolution (vote 5–0).
- PUR1766 (bulk road salt): Primary award to Cargill Incorporated at $76.85 per ton and secondary to Morton Salt at $78.11 per ton; contract period tentatively 10/01/2025–04/30/2026. County staff noted an average annual usage of about 15,000 tons; funding is available in the FY26 operating budget (vote 5–0).
- PUR1737 (fire service testing and inspection): Several groups awarded across bid options, including Waterways of Southwest PA, LLC ($57,600.60) and American Test Center Inc. ($8,600). Tie bids under some groups were resolved by public drawing in accordance with section 2.9 of the Washington County procurement policy manual (vote 5–0).
- INTG-25-0205: A Bobcat track loader for Hagerstown Regional Airport for $101,084.57 (vote 5–0). The airport plans to replace older equipment and sell surplus units through GovDeals.
- INTG-25-0206: One 2026 Ford Super Duty F-350 with snow package for Washington County Transit for $67,383.70 using a cooperative contract (vote 5–0).
- INTG-25-0207: Purchase of three fuel-management systems (Gasboy Islander Prime) from PWI for $53,105.19 to be used across highway department locations (vote 5–0).
- Laserfiche renewal (INTG-25-0198): One-year support and subscription agreement for Laserfiche from MCCi of Tallahassee for $73,987.16 (vote 5–0).
- Sole-source PUR1770: Priority Dispatch annual support and maintenance contract for the Department of Emergency Communications, $428,286 for five years. Staff applied the county’s sole-source procurement provision and the board approved the award (vote 5–0).
- Sole-source PUR1762: Healthy Families home-visiting service awarded to the Washington County Health Department for $250,232.50; described as an evidence-based home visiting service aligned with state early-childhood goals. The board approved the sole-source procurement (vote 5–0).
- PUR1736 (grounds maintenance chemicals): The board rescinded an earlier award to Heritage Landscape Supply Group due to vendor unresponsiveness and then awarded chemicals to responsive, lowest bidders per item; tie items were resolved by public drawing (votes recorded 5–0 after rescission and re-award).
County staff noted that several purchases were made through cooperative purchasing agreements (Sourcewell, Omnia, Virginia Sheriffs Association contract leveraged for economies of scale) and that funding for each purchase was available in the department budgets or CIP as presented. Where the county’s procurement policy required it, tie bids were resolved by drawing lots in public during the meeting.
All listed procurement votes recorded on the meeting record passed, mostly 5–0; some items with sole-source authority require four-of-five approvals and were presented consistent with the cited local procurement code sections.
