Bid committee to review spending

The Polk County Commission’s bid committee has a busy morning ahead of them today when they gather at the County Administration office, with five different items requiring spending coming before the board in the next few weeks.

Among those will be estimates provided by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office on the cost of replacing four of the cars in their fleet with pickup trucks, which would allow them to go further afield than they can in patrol cars currently in use.

Polk County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jonathan Blackmon initially brought some sealed bids to the Polk County Public Safety Committee in an effort to estimate the cost of the vehicles would be as part of their 2014 Special Purpose, Local Option Sales Tax initiative to replace vehicles in their fleet. They, like the Polk County Police Department have funds that are budgeted in the programmed SPLOST draw approved four years ago by voters to retire older vehicles out of t heir fleet, and bring in new.

Blackmon told the committee during their meeting on March 15 that the Sheriff’s Office seeks pickup trucks versus the previous sports utility vehicles they had chosen to replace older patrol cars, the previous iteration of Ford’s interceptor vehicle and the Dodge Charger in common use around the county.

Chiefs in the past have grown weary of using the Charger as a replacement vehicle in their fleets, since maintenance costs on the vehicles make them ineffective in the long term to operate.

Pickup trucks are being seen as a possible alternative since they provide more room for deputies in the drivers and passenger seats, but could still have a cab large enough for transporting people in custody. Additionally, with four-wheel drive packages available in pick- up trucks — and previ- ously purchased SUVs — the Sheriff’s Office can also help patrol during severe weather events, such as in the aftermath of snowstorms or ice storms.

“We’re mainly looking at the difference between using trucks and the Ford Explorers we’ve gotten in the past,” Blackmon said.

Those will additionally require new equipment to be installed within for radios, computers and mounting of enclosed spaces to keep prisoners from interfering with deputies, which will require separate bids to be opened as well.

Though Blackmon intended to open the bids in the Public Safety committee, they were taken up by County Clerk Dawn Turner to be opened today instead.

While discussing the need to replace police cars as part of programmed SPLOST purchases, Polk County Police Chief Kenny Dodd also sought to find out if he could use insurance money from two wrecked police cars to get a newer model Ford Police interceptor much smaller than what is in common use.

He has $ 19,000 at the department’s disposal following settlements from the county’s automotive insurance provider for two wrecks within the Polk County Police Department that saw cars totaled.

That included a wreck involving Dodd last year where his unmarked cruiser was struck by a passing truck in front of Polk Medical Center, where he had pulled over to help a mother and child on the side of the road.

Commissioner Chuck Thaxton asked the departments to get together to see if they can put together a full bid package for Dodd’s car, and the trucks being sought by the county.

First the bid committee will get to see what costs look like on the trucks, and make a decision on how to move forward in the process.

They’ll additionally get to open bids first on the agenda of the Public Safety committee, but pulled from consideration during the meeting.