Commission approves ambulance bid, elects new chair
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By Christa Jennings
Senior Staff Writer
During its two June meetings, the County Commission approved bids, including one for the countywide ambulance to be stationed in Rockford, and saw a change in leadership.
During its June 14 meeting the commission opened and reviewed bids for the ambulance and the DHR roof project.
Only one bid was received for the ambulance, and it was from Southern Emergency Consultants in Roanoke. The total bid for the Type III ambulance remount with a 2022 chassis was $218,794.
EMA Director Sheldon Hutcherson reviewed the bid packet at the commission meeting and confirmed that the bid met all of the county’s specifications.
He noted that the ambulance would be delivered no later than 120 days after approval and acceptance of the bid. The county’s match would be $54,698.50 for the ambulance.
After review and discussion, the commission unanimously approved acceptance of the ambulance bid from Southern Emergency Consultants.
The commission also reviewed the one bid received for the Department of Human Resources’ roof, a project which has been discussed at length during previous meetings. Submitted by Johns and Kirksey of Tuscaloosa, the bid packet for the roof included three different options.
However, with the costs for all three options seeming to be on the higher side, the commission was hesitant to accept the bid.
County attorney John K. Johnson stated that it seemed like “an excessive bid” and suggested the commission have the engineer go back and try to renegotiate the bid pricing.
Following that, at Tuesday evening’s meeting of the County Commission, with all commissioners present the commission unanimously approved the revised Interagency Agreement between Coosa County and the Alabama DHR to increase the project cost for the roof replacement on the county’s building housing the Board of Education and DHR to $137,500.
Once that was approved, the commission proceeded to unanimously approve accepting a negotiated bid from Johns and Kirksey Roofing Contractors in the amount of $137,500 for re-roofing the BOE/DHR building with “weathered wood” color 40-year dimensional shingles, according to all other specifications contained in the company’s competitive bid dated June 14, with further notifying them in writing with a Notice to Protocol.
The base bid was originally $144,000 for that shingle option, meaning the renegotiated bid resulted in a savings of $6,500.
As reported last week, during the June 14 meeting Commissioner Randall Dunham resigned from the position of chair of the commission effective immediately, following the commission accepting his letter of resignation.
As such, during Tuesday evening’s meeting, the commission opened the floor to accept nominations for chair of the commission, which Commissioner Unzell Kelley brought up on the agenda and for discussion.
After speaking briefly, Kelley said that he nominated himself for chair of the County Commission. Commissioner Ronnie Joiner then spoke up nominating Vice Chair Bertha K. McElrath as chair, which was seconded by Commissioner Lamar Daugherty.
After some discussion, Dunham seconded Kelley’s nomination for himself.
Taking the nominations in order, after discussion a roll call vote was held for each nominee.
Dunham and Kelley voted in favor of Kelley as chair, with McElrath, Joiner and Daugherty opposing, making the vote 2-3.
In a roll call vote for McElrath for chair, she, Joiner and Daughtery voted in favor, with Dunham and Kelley opposing, making the vote 3-2.
Therefore, McElrath was elected the new chair of the County Commission by a majority vote. Being the first female commissioner in Coosa County, that now makes her the first female chairperson, as well.
With McElrath vacating the vice chair position, an election for that position will now be on the July 12 agenda, according to County Administrator Amy Gilliland.
Following the meeting, McElrath expressed her gratitude for being elected chair and said that she appreciates the support of her fellow commissioners in entrusting her with this position.
“As a commissioner I have conquered many goals that I set before taking office, which includes PASSION PROJECT I.H.O.P.E (Increasing Health Opportunities for Physical Engagement) for a healthy community with plans set forth with the assistance of the County’s Extension programs; the completion of several road and bridge projects within District 2; CDBG COVID-19 relief dollars that were awarded to help assist citizens in the community by purchasing air purifiers in approved areas; and I also gave awarded grant dollars to assist with the purchase of Coosa County voting IPADS, held fundraisers to assist with the Central High School Athletic Department, and many other projects that are still in progress,” McElrath said following the meeting. “As your newly elected chairperson, with the commission as a whole, citizens, and many other organizations, we can continue to move this county forward while working together.”
In other business, between the two meetings the commission unanimously approved:
- Nominating Commissioner Daugherty as the ACCA Legislative Committee representative again, with him stating he enjoyed serving last time.
- Adopting provisions of Act 2022-229 resolution, which will allow eligible county retirees or a beneficiary of a deceased retiree to receive a one-time benefit payment.
- The county’s Community Development Block Grant application for road resurfacing.
- The county’s Appalachian Regional Commission grant application, with consideration for rehabilitating the old J.D. Thompson School building.
- Submitting a letter of support to the Fire Association for an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Homeland Security grant, which has no matching funds but is a reimbursement grant, for a total of $49,711 for VHF radios for the fire departments.
- Upgrading the deputies’ weapons from .40 caliber Glocks to 9 millimeter Glocks, with money for the purchase of the 18 firearms coming from the Sheriff’s Office budget equipment line item.
- Allowing Sheriff Michael Howell to apply for a $25,000 ADECA grant, which requires no match, once the grant is announced.
Also, after initially bringing the matter up for discussion at the June 14 meeting, the commission heard from Chris Sims and Ken Kelley again during Tuesday evening’s meeting regarding the boat ramp on County Road 92. Kelley and Sims had previously discussed damage being done to the ramp and parking area by commercial vehicles and asked that the county consider restricting the ramp to personal and recreational use only.
They said that wanted to try to stop the commercial use from damaging the ramp and parking lot further.
After about 30 minutes of discussion Tuesday among the commission, attorney Johnson and County Engineer Tad Eason, the commission ultimately approved county signage to be placed on each side of the boat ramp, with the exact wording of the signs to be determined.
The signage was approved by a majority vote with Commissioner Kelley abstaining from voting because of it being a conflict of interest based on his employment with Alabama Power.
The commission also tabled some items until its July 12 meeting, including establishing county levies for the new ABC license types, the purchase of six data terminals for deputies’ cars and designating employee parking behind the Extension Office with signage and striping while waiting for a response from the state.
During Tuesday evening’s meeting, EMA Director Hutcherson reported that the Kellyton Civic Complex had passed its inspection and is now the county’s first Safer Place for inclement weather.
During discussion items by commissioners, Commissioner Daugherty mentioned concerns with some roads in the county not meeting expectations. See a future edition for information on the road discussion and where that stands.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Coosa County Commission will be held at 9:30 a.m. July 12.