Polk County approves technology, design and temporary-office contracts totaling about $5 million

Polk County commissioners on Tuesday approved a set of agreements covering a community healthcare software modernization, two architectural and engineering contracts for county facilities and leases for temporary modular offices.

The measures are part of the county manager's office package and were approved during the regular Board of County Commissioners meeting. The contracts include a five-year cooperative purchase for Salesforce-based case and contract management software with Carahsoft Technology Corporation, professional services with the LUNS Group for two separate facilities projects, and cooperative lease agreements with Mobile Modular Management Corporation for temporary modular units at Utilities sites.

The county's community healthcare division will acquire Salesforce case- and contract-management modules and build a master data warehouse under a five-year cooperative agreement with Carahsoft not to exceed $3,228,188.60. County staff said the existing case-management system is outdated and the new platform will centralize client data, improve reporting and automate intake, eligibility and scheduling. Funding was identified in the Indigent Health Care Fund. The implementation component was described as a one-time cost not to exceed $1,029,527 with recurring maintenance and cloud access fees over five years.

County staff also presented two negotiated professional services agreements with the LUNS Group. The board approved a not-to-exceed $1,117,825 contract for architectural and engineering services for a planned 100,000-square-foot joint-use warehouse and Facilities Management administration building that will consolidate three existing warehouses and provide office space for Facilities Management. Separately, the board approved a not-to-exceed $556,277 agreement for architectural and engineering services for a new roadway maintenance campus planned off Sheffield Road to replace the existing Mulberry operations.

Finally, commissioners approved cooperative lease agreements with Mobile Modular Management Corporation for temporary modular office units at several Utilities sites. The total lease cost across sites was presented not to exceed $997,923 over the term of the agreements, with individual site caps described in staff materials (for example, the Cherry Hill Water Production Facility unit capped at $80,259 and other regional facilities at roughly $237,009 each). Staff said the leases support a transition from a centralized to a decentralized staffing model while long-term capital projects and renovations proceed. Each lease term was described as not to exceed 36 months and funding was available in the Utilities division operating budget.

All four items were moved, seconded and adopted by voice vote without recorded roll-call tallies in the public record.

Votes at a glance: - Cooperative agreement with Carahsoft Technology Corporation for Salesforce modules and implementation services — five-year cost not to exceed $3,228,188.60 — approved. Funding: Indigent Health Care Fund. - Professional services agreement with the LUNS Group for a 100,000 sq. ft. joint-use warehouse and Facilities Management administration building — cost not to exceed $1,117,825 — approved. Funding: General Capital Improvement Fund. - Professional services agreement with the LUNS Group for a roadway maintenance campus off Sheffield Road — cost not to exceed $556,277 — approved. Funding: Transportation/Village Fund. - Cooperative purchase and lease agreements with Mobile Modular Management Corporation for temporary modular office units at Utilities sites — total not to exceed $997,923 — approved. Funding: Utilities Division operating budget.

Commissioners discussed schedule and site-readiness for the modular units and asked staff about decentralization of operations and SCADA access from remote locations. Staff reported the decentralized staffing is already in place for field operators and that SCADA can be accessed remotely by credentialed users. The board did not request additional conditions on the approved agreements.

This package moves forward multiple capital and operational projects the county described as intended to improve public-safety staging, roadway maintenance operations and community-health data management.