Wayne County committee receives emergency Legionella testing report after low laundry temperatures triggered testing

The Wayne County Committee on Public Services on March 10 received an emergency procurement report for a contract with Legionella Control Systems to perform Legionella testing, an assessment and a water‑management plan at the criminal justice complex.

Joan Gregg, deputy director of facilities management and planning for Wayne County, and Art Elant, senior project manager in corporation counsel, described how the vendor evaluated the complex and helped the county implement a water‑management plan and weekly bacterial testing. "This is, actually the first procurement that we had received," Elant said, and later added, "We engaged, got our water management plan in effect." Gregg and Elant said testing began last month and weekly samples are ongoing.

Elant said the inquiry began after staff received reports that laundry temperatures at the facility were "on the low side," which prompted an investigation and the decision to bring in external experts. "As we were doing our investigation, that's what led us to ... a water management plan," he said.

A commissioner asked why the contracted company is based in Indiana and whether the county could use Michigan firms going forward. Elant said procurement staff, including Procurement Director Aaron Wagner, are working to put the work out to bid so the county can competitively procure the service and consider expanding the program to other county buildings.

Committee members were told the item is being handled as a receiving file because the emergency procurement already occurred; the chair said the committee will take a formal vote at the end of the agenda. No ordinance, statute or other legal authority was cited during the presentation.