Commissioners review evidence-room price quote; staff defend selecting local contractor

County procurement and facilities staff presented a price-quote award for a sheriff's evidence room at the Trumbull County jail during the workshop and recommended selecting United Contractors of Brookville as the vendor.

Mike Sinsky, who introduced the project, said the county solicited six contractors and received three price quotes. The project was described as approximately $70,000 to $71,000. Staff said they evaluated proposals with a scoring matrix that weighed experience, responsiveness and price; a local contractor scored highest despite not being the absolute lowest price. Sinsky told commissioners the difference between the selected local firm and the out-of-area bidder was about $15,000.

Sinsky also reported a discrepancy in the out-of-area bidder's claimed years of operation: "they had stated that they had been in business for over 40 years; we went to the Secretary of State's web page and they've only been in business for two years," he said, a factor that was treated as a red flag in the scoring process.

Commissioners said they generally prefer local firms when appropriate but emphasized the prosecutor's office should sign off when the selected vendor is not the lowest. Staff said the prosecutor had been consulted informally. Commissioners asked that the names of bidders and supporting documentation be made available to them in case of follow-up inquiries from other contractors.

Staff characterized the selection as a price-quote procedure rather than a formal competitive bid because the estimated project value fell below the county's procurement threshold. The board agreed to proceed pending formal clearance from the prosecutor's office and the assignment of appropriate fund numbers for the expenditure.