Drew Ressler of Cobb County DOT presented a slate of transportation items Jan. 13, including a cooperative purchasing agreement with the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services for the procurement of nine compressed natural gas (CNG) replacement transit buses for CobbLinc.

Ressler described the cooperative purchase and asked the board to authorize a contract not to exceed $7,607,538 with Gillick LLC for the buses and to authorize corresponding budget transactions and execution of necessary documents. The board approved the item; the chair recorded "The motion carries 4 1 with commissioner Gambril in opposition."

Ressler also presented several other DOT items that the board approved, including task orders and grant applications to the Atlanta Regional Commission. Several items were routine contracts, task orders for preliminary engineering design and resolutions authorizing grant applications to support trails, transit centers and pedestrian projects.

The board did not elaborate on Commissioner Gambril's reasons for opposing the bus purchase in the moments recorded in the meeting transcript; the board approved the other DOT items by recorded majorities or unanimous votes.

Next steps: DOT staff will execute the cooperative purchasing agreement, process budget transactions and proceed with procurement and delivery scheduling for the buses.