Dougherty County Commission rescinds contract with dealership for car

ALBANY — The Dougherty County Commission received a recommendation during its work meeting Monday to rescind a contract with Sunbelt Ford Town of Albany on a Ford Focus that was delivered to the county but did not meet the specifications of the contract agreed upon in August.

Assistant County Administrator Mike McCoy told the board the vehicle, which was to be utilized by Public Works, was delivered to Fleet Management, which found the engine size to be smaller than specified in the contract. Staff recommended that the board rescind the contract.

However, commissioners questioned the fact that, upon rebid, Ford Town was the recommended lowest responsible bidder on a replacement contract for the rescinded bid and for a similar vehicle that would be utilized by the county Public Defender’s Office. Some took exception to the fact that Sunbelt’s new bid was $58.37 higher than the original bid.

“I know that’s one of our local vendors, one that we’ve given bids to in the past that were not the lowest bids, but I feel like it’s unfair for them to be given a bid that they beat the other dealer ‘by a smidgen,’ and have that bid be higher than the original bid,” District 5 Commissioner Harry James said. “They should either deliver the vehicle for the price they (originally) promised or be disqualified from the bid.”

Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas sided with James.

“I know we’re only talking about around $65, but there’s principle involved,” Cohilas said.

County Clerk Jawahn Ware, who serves as the county’s procurement agent, said the issue is more complex than it appears on the surface.

“First of all, I don’t believe there was any malicious intent (by Sunbelt) in the delivery of the vehicle,” Ware said. “This could have been an issue with the factory. But it should be pointed out that with the rebid, we changed the specs a bit. So they weren’t bidding on a vehicle with the exact same specifications.”

Cohilas got a consensus agreement from the board to look into the matter further before voting on the awarding of a new contract on the two vehicles.

Also at the meeting, the commission received a report from Dougherty County Police Chief Jackie Battle on the proposed blanket renewal of licenses at venues that sell alcohol in the county.

“We’ve determined that there are no major concerns at any of the locations that would lead us not to recommend renewal,” Battle said.

Ware, noting that she and staff made concerted efforts to entice more citizens to apply for appointments to review and policy boards that led to “the most response of qualified candidates that we’ve had in my five years,” said all but seven technical positions (on Southwest Georgia Housing Task Force, Resource Conservation & Development Council, Gas, Plumbing and Electric boards) had received resumes or letters of intent from qualified applicants.

The board will vote on those appointments at its business meeting next Monday.