By VICKI BROWN
Colleton County Council, the governing body of Colleton County, has determined that it is in the best interest of the county to acquire certain heavy equipment and vehicles and to hire the services of Raymond James & Associates, Inc., as an independent registered municipal advisor to the county. Acting as an advisor, Raymond James & Associates will help county leaders in obtaining competitive proposals from banks and other lending institutions for the lease-purchase financing.
The decision was made by county council during its recent meeting, where it passed an ordinance authorizing the acquisition of heavy equipment and vehicles through lease-purchasing in an amount not to exceed $5.5 million.
Colleton Cunty Administrator Kevin Griffin is authorized to issue purchase orders for the order of equipment with an over 180-day lead time. “This is across all departments, so it will be anything from motor graders, dump trucks, landfill compaction equipment, backhoe or ambulance equipment,” said Griffin.
In other county council business:
County Council also had to pass Ordinance 21-O-10 in order to meet federal grant requirements. Grants must have clear and transparent criteria for protest procedures related to purchasing for state and federal grants.
A portion of the protest procedures related to state and federal grant funds is as follows: a prospective bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor who is aggrieved in connection with a contract has the right to protest, and must protest to the Chief Procurement Officer within three days of the date of issuance of the invitation for bids or requests for proposals. The written protest must state the grounds for the protest and the relief requested.
The fee required for a vendor to protest the solicitation of a contract is one percent of the estimated dollar amount of the contract or the recommended award, whichever is greater, up to a maximum of $5,000.00. The fee must accompany the appeal documents. Only a check or money order will be accepted.
The appeal fee will be returned if the appeal is found meritorious and relief is granted to the appellant. The appeal fee will not be returned if the appeal is denied.
The Chief Procurement Officer may attempt to settle by mutual agreement a protest of an aggrieved bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor, actual or prospective, concerning the solicitation or award of the contract. The county administrator has the authority to approve any settlement.
In other Colleton County Council news:
Council accepts grant for Child and Adult Care Food program
Resolution 21-R-48 was passed by county council in its recent meeting, allowing the county to accept a grant from the South Carolina Department of Social Services for the Child and Adult Care Food Program Grant for 2022.
Council deemed it to be in the best interest of the County to sponsor/administer a Child and Adult Care Food Program with meal preparation at the Colleton Commercial Kitchen, delivered meals, in-house reporting and financial management.
The Child and Adult Care Program will service students in after school programs within the County with the program set to run from October 5, 2021 through May 30, 2022 and September 1, 2022 through September 30,2022. It requires that the County hire two temporary employees to be funded by the grant.
New ambulances to be purchased
Colleton County Council passed a resolution authorizing the purchase of wheeled-coach ambulances for Colleton County Fire-Rescue. The Fire-Rescue Commission needs to replace four aging ambulances with units meeting the current specifications on the reliable Kenworth chassis.
The Commission asked to purchase four ambulances from the same manufacturer to maintain the standardization of the fleet and the equipment the Fire-Rescue personnel and Fleet Management mechanics are trained on.
Leaders with CCFR asked that county council authorize the purchase of four Wheeled Coach/Kenworth ambulances from Wheeled Coach Corporation through its authorized dealer (Atlantic Emergency Solutions) at a total cost of $1,333,588 (including SC Sales Tax).
Funding for these purchases is included in the 2021 Lease Purchase.
Local contractor chosen to design new county food assistance facility
Colleton County Council has passed a resolution awarding a design contract for the county’s new Colleton County Food Assistance Facility. The county advertised a request for qualification, CC-34, for the design build of the Colleton County Food Assistance Facility. Form that ad, two proposals were received. IP Builders, Inc. was found to have the highest score. Funding for this project will come from the Special Revenue Fund.
Board Vacancies
1. Colleton County Recreation Commission has four vacancies;
2. Colleton County Board of Disabilities and Special Needs has one vacancy;
3. Colleton County Library Board of Trustees has two vacancies;
4. Keep Colleton Beautiful Board had three vacancies;
5. Colleton County Board of Adjustments and Appeals has three vacancies.
Board appointees
The following people were appointed by Colleton County Council to these respective boards/commissions:
Keep Colleton Beautiful, Angela McAdoo;
Commission of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Vera Bodison, Leigh Cook, and Lillian Thomas;
Planning Commission, Ian Padgett;
Board of Adjustments and Appeals, Kimberly Crouse.
The following members were appointed to the Colleton County Safety Committee and will represent the areas associated with their name, as listed below:
Animal & Environmental Control Facilities, Laura Clark;
Facilities Maintenance, Robbie Williams;
Magistrate’s Office, Darryl Wilcox;
Library, Sierra DeFoor;
Roads & Bridges, Helen Bowers;
Fleet Management, Jack Wright;
Colleton County Fire-Rescue, Roger Johnson;
Colleton County Sheriff’s Office, George Rouix;
EOC/V A/Coroner, Janet Dillard-Smith;
County Finance, Kaye Syfrett;
Solid Waste, Johnny Bartley;
Human Resources, Deagdrea Sadler;
Risk Management, George Welch.
