Board approves Provencia Security as fire alarm monitoring vendor for one-year contract

The Maury County School Board approved a one-year contract recommendation May 5 for Provencia Security to monitor school fire alarm systems, a contract valued at $41,940 for the initial year with the option to extend up to four additional one-year terms.

Facilities staff told the board there were three bids for the solicitation (bid 20 6010) and that the recommended proposer, Provencia Security, was roughly $14,000 higher than the low bid but offered on-the-ground presence, required site visits and better responsiveness. "We've gone through the process to satisfy the auditors, so this would not create an audit finding," facilities staff said.

Staff explained that emergency calls are relatively rare (estimated at about one or two per semester) and routine service calls for equipment failures are expected at a rate of about one or two per month, depending on equipment age. Staff also said two other vendors did not perform required site visits and that long-term service and integration costs vary by vendor.

Board action A motion to approve the bid recommendation was made and seconded; after brief member questions about service rates and the vendor's local office, the board approved the recommendation.

What to know - Contract: one-year term with option to extend up to four additional one-year terms (total up to five years). - Initial-year cost (recommended): $41,940; approximately $14,000 higher than the lowest bid due to vetting and local service considerations. - Operations details: staff reported Provencia has served the district for about 15 years and that required site visits were part of the solicitation.

Next steps: Staff will finalize contract paperwork and move forward with implementation and routine monitoring under the contract terms.