The Custer County Board of Commissioners approved the 6-month bids during its meeting Monday morning after taking no action on the item last week.
The board waited a week to take action on the bids so each commissioner could assess the bids and write letter of exception for choosing a bidder which may not be the lowest but were the “lowest and best.” All three commissioners said their decisions, detailed in the letters of exception, were based on the cost of shipping and quality of the product.
The letters were necessary for auditing purposes. Without the letters, the commissioners would have to note on each purchase why they chose the particular vendor.
In other news, the board approved a profession services agreement with SWODA for the Custer County Emergency Management Department’s annual safe room project. County Emergency Management Director Mike Galloway said FEMA changed its processing rules, which is why the county needed to approve this agreement.
FEMA also has changed its administration reimbursement from 75 percent to 100 percent.
The board approved the annual agreements with KellPro for the websites and TK Elevator to service the courthouse elevators. The board also approved a road bore permit and a ingress permit for District 2.
The board approved receiving and requisitioning agents for various county departments. The board also approved a $5 transfer to cover the law library.
The board approved lease purchase agreement renewals with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and related insurance verifications.
In unforeseen business, Galloway said FEMA is trying to clear pending Fire Management Assistant Grants requests. This had led to FEMA requesting information regarding a large fire in 2018. So far, the Weatherford Fire Department is the only agency who has submitted their information. Galloway and the commissioners said gathering information related to the even count prove difficult because it will require piecing together information such as who was working and in what equipment.