Commissioners approve sole‑source purchasing waiver for community corrections contracts

Arapahoe County commissioners gave unanimous informal approval to a sole‑source purchasing waiver that will allow the county to continue contracts with existing community corrections providers through June 30.

Kathy Smith, Community Resources, told the board the contracts exceed $100,000 and that the services are "pretty niche," requiring both specialized programming and facilities with the correct zoning. She said current contracts serve about 260 individuals annually and that the county has not issued an RFP for these services in more than 25 years.

"We are currently under contract with three of our providers for community corrections … our contracts are over a $100,000. We are not aware of any other providers that are able to provide these services," Smith said. She added that the office plans to issue a request for proposals next contracting year to confirm whether other providers exist.

Commissioners signaled approval by a consensus thumbs‑up; staff stated they will obtain the chair's signature and execute the waiver without placing it on the consent agenda. No formal roll‑call vote was recorded in the transcript; staff reported "five thumbs up." The waiver will allow the county to maintain services while the procurement office prepares a competitive solicitation for the next contract term.

The issue arose as a procurement‑policy compliance matter: county policy requires review and, for contracts above the threshold, either competitive procurement or a documented sole‑source justification. The DA and finance teams did not object to the short extension but emphasized the need for an RFP to ensure market competition going forward.

Next steps: staff will circulate the signed waiver and return to the commission with the results of an RFP before the new contract year begins.