Sarpy County delays road-striping award after lowest bidder protests

Sarpy County commissioners on March 17 voted to delay awarding a three-year countywide road-striping contract after a local company that submitted the lowest bid contested the county's finding that it lacked appropriate equipment for open-road striping.

The board tabled consideration of Resolution 66, which staff recommended awarding to Straight Line Striping Inc. at a rate of $25.75 per gallon, after public comment from CT Perry, who identified himself as a 50% owner of Secure Asset Holdings and said his company's bid was $4,884 lower than Straight Line's. "Competitive bidding exists specifically so that contracts are not automatically renewed based solely on incumbent or past incumbency," Perry told the board. "No company can become a road striping company without first being awarded a road striping contract."

Why it matters: The contract covers striping for multiple jurisdictions across the county and is intended to run three years. The board's decision to delay the award lets the low bidder meet with county engineers to address staff concerns about equipment, training and safety procedures before the county makes a final selection.

County staff explained the recommendation to keep the incumbent was based on safety and demonstrated capacity for active roadway striping. "There was a lower bid," said Sack Urgen, the county engineer, "but after further questioning from staff and purchasing, we determined that they don't have the current equipment to handle roadway striping and they haven't performed striping on active roadways before and we believe that would cause a safety issue."

Perry disputed that the company could not meet requirements, saying Secure Asset Holdings has identified the necessary equipment and would purchase it immediately upon award. He cited standard procurement safeguards such as performance bonds and insurance to manage risk: "The performance bond in particular protects the county and its partners by guaranteeing completion of the work or providing financial protection if the contractor fails to perform," he said.

Board members asked detailed questions about equipment, training and bonding. Perry said his firm planned to operate two trucks with two striping machines and would rely on vendor support for installation and training of the Graco-brand equipment. Commissioners also noted the county's 100% performance-bond requirement for the contract (the bond amount discussed in the meeting equated to the full contract value). One commissioner recalled that in the past bids were opened publicly so the board could review bidders and bonding immediately; staff said the current process relies on staff review and recommendation.

Commissioner Warren moved to table the award for one week to allow Secure Asset Holdings to meet with county engineering staff; Commissioner Clue seconded. The motion passed by voice vote. The item was rescheduled for March 24, 2026.

What the transcript shows and doesn't: The board considered staff safety concerns about the lowest bidder's lack of current open-road striping equipment and the bidder's assertion that equipment and training could be obtained after award; the board did not decide the award on March 17 and instead postponed the decision to allow further vetting.

Next step: The board set a one-week delay so the low bidder and county engineering staff can meet and provide additional assurances before the board reconvenes to act on the contract.