Commissioners approve $7M in year-end contracts

NORRISTOWN » Montgomery County leaders authorized more than $7 million in contracts during a Board of Commissioners meeting as 2020 draws to a close.

The agreements, totaling roughly $7.02 million, would fund ventures for a variety of departments including assets and infrastructure, courts and human resources.

Of the 32 contracts, several big-ticket items were presented before the commissioners on Dec. 17.

The most costly was $2,463,400. The one-year agreement with Swiss RE, of Enfield, Conn., covers stop loss insurance as part of the 2021 health plan for county employees, “which protects the

plan against excessively high individual health claims over $325,000.”

The Montgomery County Department of Assets and Infrastructure secured an additional $700,000 with Floyd G. Hersh, of Green Lane, Strouse Landscaping, Inc., of Schwenksville, and T & T Contracting, Inc., of Fairview Village, for equipment rentals.

The one-year agreement initially took effect on Jan. 1, however, officials recommended extending the contract for another year “for as-needed services.” The new contract is slated to begin on Jan. 1, 2021.

A $400,000 contract with Westlaw Online Access of St. Paul, Minn., covers “legal and related research services” for several stakeholders including the board of judges, district attorney, solicitor, Montgomery County Correctional Facility, and other row offices.

Officials said that “consolidating the contracts will provide increased access and savings to the using agencies” for the one-year term, which is expected to last from Jan. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2021, according to the contract.

A $330,000 contract was awarded to the Montgomery County Child Advocacy Project, of Norristown, for “legal services” to represent “minors involved in various aspects of the county’s juvenile court and orphan’s court system,” the agreement states.

Funding for the one-year contract is expected to be allocated via the Montgomery County courts’ budget, according to the agreement, which will remain valid for the 2021 term.

Additionally, a $550,000 agreement with MXI Environmental Services LLC, of Abingdon, Va. for “regional household hazardous waste collection program” in Montgomery County was renewed for a one-year term, according to the contract.

According to the agreement, the City of Philadelphia had previously issued a request for proposals to collect hazardous waste in Montgomery County “on behalf of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties.”

Philadelphia then awarded a one-year contract to the Virginia-based firm, with an option to extend it for “three additional one-year terms.”

The Montgomery County Planning Commission endorsed Philadelphia’s contract, adding that Montgomery County should opt for county-specific services in the “second available contract renewal term that covers household hazardous water collection for the 2021 calendar year.”

The next Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2021.