$1.6M approved in contracts to tackle COVID
NORRISTOWN » During Thursday’s Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting, Chairwoman Dr. Valerie Arkoosh disclosed there were 114 new cases of COVID-19, and the county is experiencing a “3.16 percent positivity rate as compared to 2.31 percent” rate reported on Oct. 16.
As of Oct. 22, several municipalities, including Bryn Athyn, Green Lane, Marlborough, and West Conshohocken townships, had the lowest positivity rates at 0 percent, while Salford reported a 15.69 percent positivity rate, according to the county’s COVID-19 resources webpage.
Furthermore, hospitalization rates in Montgomery County have “increased by 54 percent,” according to Arkoosh, who added that 8 percent of patients with COVID-19 need a ventilator.
Arkoosh noted that the county recorded 537 cases over the “past seven days, ending Wednesday,” which translated to an “increase in 237 cases as compared to the previous seven days.” There have been 13,787 cases of COVID-19, and 838 deaths reported in the state’s third most populous county since March 7, according to the county’s webpage.
“We also have to remember that we’re all in this together in this region and both on our eastern border and our western border of this county,” she said. “We have Berks County, and Philadelphia County whose positivity rates are I think both over 7 percent now. So we have a lot of virus around us.”
As part of the pandemic response, the commissioners allocated funding to assist the business community.
Elected officials had approved monies for 12,000 personal protective equipment kits to be distributed to small businesses across the county. The initiative, involving a number of area chambers of commerce, continues as Arkoosh announced 2,500 kits have been given out so far
dditionally, Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr. turned his attention to the business community’s nonprofit sector as the MontcoStrong Nonprofit Resiliency and Restoration Grant program awarded $3,837,000 to more than 150 agencies.
“We remain committed to doing everything we can to help our local nonprofits who are helping others during this extraordinary time,” Lawrence said during Thursday’s meeting.
The initiative aimed to assist nonprofit agencies financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Lawrence. The application window was available from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6. Of the 183 nonprofit organizations that applied, 162 were awarded full or partial funding, and the largest recipient received $40,000.
In other business, county leaders authorized a series of COVID-19-related contracts totaling more than $1.6 million.
A $694,912 agreement with Oliver Mechanical, of Morton, Pa., covers the “installation of HVAC air handlers for the Montgomery
County Correctional Facility” in Eagleville, according to the contract. The “equipment and services” were made available via a contract from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s cooperative purchasing program.
A $296,733.48 agreement between the county’s Office of Health and Human Services and multiple companies “provides replacement tents for use at the COVID-19 mobile testing sites for the Office of Public Health.” The agreement involves $284,867.91 awarded to Safeware Inc., of Lanham, Md., and $11,865.57 awarded to TentCraft, of Traverse City, Mich.
A $182,950.00 was also awarded to the aforementioned Maryland firm for “disposable gloves [and] personal protective gowns,” which would be used by county officials. The agreement further stated that the gloves “are available through a US Communities cooperative contract.”
A $276,061.22 contract with PrimeCare Medical, Inc., of Harrisburg, Pa., covers health services for the Montgomery County Youth Center in Eagleville, which is also shared with Montgom
ery County Correctional Facility.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is a mutually agreed upon third renewal for [the] 2021 term in lieu of initiating a new solicitation,” the contract states.
County officials also approved several smaller ticket items during Thursday’s meeting:
• A $67,586 agreement between the county’s human resources department and GovernmentJobs.com Inc. dba NEOGOV, of El Segundo, Calif. “for a remote new employee on-boarding system for the new online employee portal.”
•A $60,407.06 agreement between the county’s IT department and SHI International Corporation, of Somerset, N.J., for “an additional 60 ZenDesk Voter Services call center software licenses,” which were “available through a Sourcewell cooperative contract.”
• A $42,495 agreement between the county’s Office of Voter Services and Cofco Office Furnishings, of Norristown, for “furniture and protective divider screens required for ballot processing.”
• A $29,375 agreement
with the Montgomery County Security Force and Video Technologies Inc., of Blue
Bell, for “16 Body Temperature cameras including accessories and installation for use in County owned and leased offices.
Additionally, a previously approved contract involving COVID response kits was amended for $26,946.54 to account for “a revision to the contract unit cost for gloves only due to a supply shortage.”
The agreement between the county’s health and human services office and Veritiv Operating Company, of Pittsburgh, allocated services for the kits that were distributed at several locations including Montgomery County school districts, COVID-19 testing sites, school districts, daycares, and religious organizations.
According to the contract, which now stands at $65,587.12, the kits include the following items: alcohol wipes, hand sanitizer, disposable three-ply masks, gloves, face mask with eye shields, and thermometers.
The next Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Nov. 19.