Salisbury council approves multiple procurement awards, budget amendments and appointments

The Salisbury City Council on July 14 approved a package of procurement awards, two budget amendments, two board appointments and a surplus declaration accompanying retirements, the mayor announced after votes that drew little debate.

Council approved procurement awards presented by Acting Procurement Director Michael Lowe for pavement resurfacing, concrete repair, on-call sewer cleaning and two vehicles for city operations, and accepted a sanitation truck already on site. Lowe said the city followed competitive-bid procedures and, where applicable, used cooperative purchasing contracts.

The council approved: - A citywide pavement resurfacing contract to HCE LLC of Frankford, Del., with a base bid of $1,612,349.50, funded from the street maintenance general ledger account; the contract includes renewal options. - A citywide concrete repair and placement contract to Malone & Phillips Inc. of Salisbury, Md., with a base bid of $304,795, funded from the curb-and-gutter field operations account. - A master-price agreement for on-call sewer line cleaning and CCTV inspection to Premier Service Group of Easton, Md.; Lowe said the award converts a prior procurement action to a council-level approval because anticipated work will exceed city award thresholds. - Purchase of ambulances (model Road Rescue UltraMedic) through a Sourcewell cooperative contract from Atlantic Emergency Solutions of Salisbury for a total of $2,105,980; Lowe said the EMS account is 27090577025 and noted a packet labeling error that transposed accounts for sanitation and ambulance purchases. - Purchase of a rear-loading sanitation truck (Kenworth T880) through Sourcewell from All Roads Truck of Mar­della Springs for $281,000; Lowe said the truck is on site and will be funded via capital lease (GL 332061577025).

Council also approved a declaration of surplus allowing two empty service weapons to be transferred to retiring officers, consistent with a long-standing department practice. The council recorded unanimous voice approvals on the procurement package and on the surplus declaration; no recorded roll-call tallies were read into the record.

On the legislative side, the council: - Approved Resolution 3415 appointing Stefan Feliciano to the election board (term ending July 2031). - Approved Resolution 3416 reappointing Jean Mears to the Friends of Poplar Hill board of directors (term ending July 2028).

On ordinances, the council approved second readings of two budget amendments: Ordinance 2944 to appropriate additional FY2025 general-fund dollars for legal services and Ordinance 2945 to appropriate funds for water-main infrastructure to serve future growth near Naylor Mill and Jersey Road. The council also gave first-reading approval to Ordinance 2946, authorizing acceptance of $20,000 from the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services for the police department to purchase and install camera and cellular gateway equipment; the ordinance will return for second reading.

Council members made no recorded roll-call vote counts on the floor; each item was approved by voice vote with the chair stating that he voted aye when no opposition was called. Where bids were awarded, Lowe identified low responsive bidders and the GL accounts the city will use to pay the contracts. Lowe and council members noted renewal clauses and cooperative-purchasing authority (Sourcewell) where applicable.

Council President Deshaun Daugherty asked clarifying questions about how paving and concrete lists are prioritized; Lowe said the Department of Field Operations maintains prioritized lists for curb cuts and pavement repairs. Council members also acknowledged the arrival of the rear-loading sanitation truck and the city’s use of cooperative contracts to expedite specialized vehicle purchases.