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Covington County votes to buy prefabricated steel building; counsel warns county will assume post-delivery obligations
Summary
The commission authorized purchase of a prefabricated steel building from Vulcan Steels for the engineering department, noting the county must ensure the vendor accepts the county's sales-tax exemption and will later competitively bid erection/installation as public works.
The Covington County Commission voted to purchase a prefabricated steel building fabricated by Vulcan Steels after county counsel outlined the legal and financial implications of contracting directly with the fabricator.
County counsel (Eric) told commissioners that entering a direct contract with the fabricator makes the county the buyer and therefore responsible for warranty, post-delivery obligations and other owner responsibilities. Counsel highlighted that the vendor had included sales tax in its price because it did not have the county’s tax-exemption certificate on file; staff estimated removing the sales tax would reduce the price by roughly $13,500 from the listed $142,556.
Commissioners agreed that the county will move forward with the purchase but will require the vendor to accept the county’s sales-tax exemption. They also directed staff to solicit competitive bids from licensed general contractors to erect the building under public works contracting rules rather than handling installation in-house. The commission then approved a motion to purchase the structure by voice vote.
County staff said the engineering department still needs the building and that the pad is prepared; staff will return with contract paperwork reflecting the agreed sales-tax treatment and the subsequent bid documents for erection. The commission’s approval authorized the purchase only and did not include an erection contract or a construction start date.
