Commissioners approve radios and multiple county vehicles; fuel-system upgrade tabled for additional bids

LAFAYETTE, Ga. — During the Feb. 6 meeting the Walker County Board of Commissioners approved purchase orders for communications equipment and multiple vehicles across county departments, and tabled a proposed fuel-site upgrade while staff gathers additional competitive quotes.

What the board approved: County officials authorized the purchase of 45 mobile radios for the sheriff’s office ($107,406.37 to Sunny Communications) and radios and batteries for Fire & Rescue ($84,162.24 to Motorola Solutions). The board also approved purchase orders for vehicles for emergency management, planning and codes, facilities/maintenance and landfill operations; several were funded from the 2020 SPLOST vehicle replacement allocations.

Curtis Creekmer, the county emergency-management director, explained the radio purchases are intended to replace aging units and to prepare for an upcoming encryption upgrade in the radio system. “The sheriff’s department was requesting funds to replace or upgrade existing original radios for their fleet…to get prepared for encryption,” Creekmer told commissioners. He said some radios in service were more than a decade old.

Fleet additions and replacements: Commissioners approved purchase orders to acquire multiple vehicles, including a new emergency-management vehicle ($63,805.30), a planning/codes vehicle ($47,510.16) to support newly hired code-enforcement staff, a facilities box truck and two landfill vehicles (totaling about $92,000 combined). Commissioners discussed that some vehicles will replace older units and some will be added to the county fleet to support restored or expanded departmental functions.

Fuel system upgrade tabled: A proposed upgrade to the county’s main fuel-dispensing system at the central fueling site was priced at $99,998 with Estes Equipment Company. Staff said the existing pumps and electronics are more than 20 years old and costly to repair. Commissioners agreed to request additional quotes and to delay awarding the contract for roughly two weeks, to allow staff to solicit competitive bids and confirm local support and warranty considerations; the item was tabled for further information.

Why it matters: The equipment and vehicle purchases are intended to modernize county operations, improve first-responder communications and replenish a fleet that commissioners said had been run down in prior years. The fuel-system item drew extra scrutiny because of its cost and because staff recommended a vendor with which the county already has a long-term relationship; commissioners asked staff to pursue at least one additional estimate before approval.

Speakers - Curtis Creekmer, Emergency Management Director (government) - Rick Carr and Carlin Bowers, Public Works / Fleet staff (government) - Chairwoman Angela Teams and multiple commissioners (government)

Authorities - 2020 SPLOST vehicle-replacement allocations (referenced as funding source for multiple approved purchases)

Clarifying details - Radio purchases: 45 mobile units for sheriff ($107,406.37) and radio package for fire rescue ($84,162.24). - Vehicle purchases: multiple purchase orders approved; amounts and intended departments recorded on the purchase orders in the meeting record. - Fuel system upgrade: vendor proposed $99,998; commissioners tabled for two weeks to seek additional quotes and local support details.

Next steps - Staff to process purchase orders and begin procurement/delivery steps for approved radios and vehicles. - Public-works staff to obtain additional quotes and warranty support information for the fuel-system upgrade and report back to the board for a special or next regular meeting.

Searchable tags: procurement, radios, vehicles, SPLOST, fuel system, Walker County

Provenance: purchase-order items during consent and new-business portions of the meeting; motion votes recorded on the public record.