Fiscal court authorizes staff to negotiate purchase of side-by-side for landfill, flags procurement timing issues

County staff presented two quotes for a new side-by-side intended for landfill use and the fiscal court authorized staff to negotiate and, if certain conditions are met, to complete the purchase.

Greg, a county staff member who presented the capital-plan request, said Extreme Mountain Motorsports (Piatwell) quoted $26,305 while Kiefer (Delbarton) quoted $24,000 — a $2,305 difference. Greg recommended buying from Kiefer unless a local dealer could match or come within 5% of the lower price; he noted the county would prefer to keep money in-county if possible.

The presiding judge moved to authorize Greg to contact Xtreme Powersports to seek a match and to negotiate the purchase; the motion included authority to issue payment if Xtreme Powersports matched the Kiefer price within 5%. The motion was seconded and carried on a unanimous roll call.

Court members and staff also discussed procurement timing. Staff explained the statutory requirement to advertise bid packages in the newspaper and the risk that items with limited supply can be sold before the county completes advertisement, bid openings and a formal award. Staff suggested, where an item is listed on the capital plan and a negotiated price is available, the county could secure the price and call a special meeting to finalize the purchase once procurement steps are completed.

No contract award beyond the authorized negotiation was recorded; the court's authorization was limited to negotiation and payment if the local dealer matches within the stated 5% threshold.