Commissioners allow sheriff to negotiate with Tri State after rejecting Feller’s towing bid

The Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners voted Sept. 10 to allow the sheriff’s office to begin negotiating a towing services contract with Tri State Towing and Recovery LLC after the sheriff’s office recommended rejecting the proposal from Feller Towing LLC. Chief Deputy Sugarman told the board the sheriff’s office obtained public records during its review and concluded “the principles of Feller Towing failed to disclose critical adverse information they were either aware of or should have been aware of and had a clear duty to disclose under the RFP terms.”

With that recommendation on the record, Commissioner [unnamed chair in transcript] moved to authorize the sheriff’s office to begin contract negotiations; the motion carried with the commissioners voting in favor. The board and staff said the final contract would return to the commission for formal approval after negotiations and legal review.

Andrew Carroll, an attorney representing Fowler/Feller Towing, addressed the board during the meeting and asked commissioners to reconsider the recommendation. Carroll said his clients made efforts to correct bid mistakes and argued that Tri State already holds the city contract and that awarding the county contract to Tri State could create longer response times and complications if impounded vehicles were stored offsite. “Primary concerns are that Tri State Towing already has the city contract, so any dispatches to towing vehicles will be doubled,” Carroll said, adding that his clients are locally owned and that awarding the contract to a company with locations in Henderson could complicate retrieval for local residents.

Tri State’s counsel, JR Trockman, identified himself to the board but offered no extended rebuttal in the record. Commissioners and staff emphasized the negotiating role of the sheriff’s office and explained they would review contract language before returning it for a vote.

The board’s action now permits the sheriff’s office to negotiate terms with Tri State; staff indicated the negotiated contract will be submitted to the county attorney and placed on a future agenda for the commissioners’ final consideration.