Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Procurement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Essex County commissioners approve slate of contracts, grants and a budget transfer
Summary
The Essex County Board of County Commissioners approved multiple contracts and grant awards — including jail monitoring, traffic-signal engineering, a prosecutor command-vehicle rehab and a cybersecurity amendment — and adopted a budget transfer to cover corrections-related wage costs.
The Essex County Board of County Commissioners approved a series of contracts, grant awards and a budget transfer during a combined conference-board meeting, voting to authorize operational reviews at the county jail, public-works contracts and an amendment to a county cybersecurity agreement.
The board moved to renew county oversight and operational review work with the Ambrose Group for monitoring and operational review at the correctional facility and approved a separate ammunition purchase through a state contract for officers’ qualifications. Department of Corrections staff told commissioners the Ambrose scope will include capital and IT improvements and recommended the firm examine parking-lot security measures as part of that review. “Part of the scope of work for this contract is to look at both the capital improvements and the IT improvements at the facility,” the director said during the presentation.
The Department of Public Works won approval for several procurement actions tied to local infrastructure and facility maintenance. The board awarded BrightView Engineering a contract not to exceed $594,566 for construction engineering and inspection services tied to a federally funded adaptive signal project along Central Avenue; BrightView representatives said their firm is based in Essex County and that roughly 70% of their employees live in the county. The board also authorized a two-year contract to supply mastic material and rental of a mastic trailer system (approximately $363,600), a two-year exterior window-washing contract ($126,380) and a 24-month extension for roof maintenance services (up to $177,900).
The prosecutor’s office received approval to rehabilitate a donated 2007 Freightliner mobile command vehicle; the low bid for outfitting was $252,281.67. The prosecutor’s office said the vehicle showed low mileage on inspection and that interior and communications outfitting — radios, interview spaces, cameras and other equipment — were the primary costs.
The county’s IT office received authorization for an amendment to the cybersecurity contract with SHI, adding $879,727.04 to complete the previously approved scope. County Treasurer Hussam Mohammed presented a transfer resolution the board adopted to rebalance current-year budget lines; he said a large portion of the transfers was to cover salaries and wages in the corrections office following recent contract settlements.
Votes on the items were recorded by roll call; routine appointments and a package of memorials/commendations were also approved. Commissioners who moved items and the deputy clerk’s roll calls were noted for each action.
What’s next: several departments were asked to provide written follow-up. Commissioners requested a written update from Department of Corrections staff detailing accomplishments and outstanding work tied to previously contracted improvements and asked Public Works to verify whether pedestrian/crosswalk safety features near schools could be included in the signal project scope.
