Jackson County budget panel holds tree‑removal contract, forwards several procurement items to the legislature

The Jackson County Budget Committee met and voted on a slate of procurement and contract matters, holding one contract for further review and recommending several others for adoption by the full legislature.

Monchere Terrell, the county’s new purchasing administrator, said the tree‑removal resolution (22 1 20) is needed "due to ice when the weather is inclement and breakage of trees falling into the streets or in breezeways where people walk." Committee members questioned whether the lone bidder — Luxe Great Services of Columbia, Mississippi — could provide a timely local response, noting only one submission was received. A member suggested shortening the contract term or rebidding; the committee voted to hold the item "waiting for either more information or a possible rebid." (Motion to hold by Committee member (S5); second by Committee member (S3); voice vote.)

The committee recommended adoption of several other items and will forward them to the full legislature. It voted to recommend a 24‑month moving services contract with three 12‑month options (22 1 21) tied to an existing government contract used for remodeling and relocations. "This contract is for remodeling purposes," Monchere Terrell said, explaining the need to move occupants while facilities are updated. The motion to recommend adoption carried on a voice vote.

The committee also recommended an agreement to execute a contract with Miriam Hennessy for administrative services not to exceed $5,800. County Administrator Steve Arbeau said the work was interim support during administrative transitions and that the original contract amount had been exceeded: "Her contract was up to $5,000...so we went up to 800...it's 5,800." Staff said no payments had yet been made under the contract; the committee moved and voted to recommend adoption.

Melinda Bowling of the Compliance Review Office presented a sole‑source purchase for Ask Reply Inc., d/b/a b2gNow, for $48,180 to provide software that tracks subcontractor payments and helps enforce MBE/WBE subcontractor utilization, which she said is required by chapter 6 of the county code. The committee voted to recommend adoption of that sole‑source purchase.

County Clerk Mary Jo Spino described a $179,784 sole‑source upgrade of the clerk’s legislative software to Granicus Operations Cloud, saying the upgrade would move agendas, minutes and streaming to a cloud‑based system and reduce manual time in her office. When asked whether constituent‑management functions were included, Spino said they were not part of this upgrade and would be considered separately. The committee recommended adoption of the Granicus upgrade and a related hardware purchase not to exceed $70,000 to support fully managed video services; Spino said part of the equipment cost would come from the clerk’s budget and part from the legislature.

The committee also reviewed a 12‑month consulting agreement with Fred Dreiling LLC of Kansas City (with two 12‑month options) to provide state legislative lobbyist services at a county cost not to exceed $117,500. Members asked whether the contract had been competitively rebid; staff said the original procurement included renewal options and the committee was exercising those options. The committee voted to recommend adoption of the lobbyist agreement.

With no further business, Chair Charlie Franklin adjourned the meeting. The items recommended will be transmitted to the full legislature for final action; the tree‑removal resolution (22 1 20) was held for additional information or a possible rebid before the committee will forward it.