MARSHALL - Efforts by Lyon County to replace one of the vehicles lost in a fire in February met a setback Tuesday, when county commissioners were faced with bids for a new tandem diesel truck that didn't meet county requirements. Rather than award a bid, commissioners voted to reject the bids and start the bidding process over.
A fire at the Lyon County shop in Cottonwood in early February caused extensive damage to the shop and several vehicles stored inside, including trucks used for road work and snow removal. In order to fill the gap left in the county vehicle fleet as quickly as possible, the bid process for a new tandem diesel truck included a requirement that the truck be delivered in 60 days.
The county received a total of four bids for a new truck. However, Lyon County Public Works Director Suhail Kanwar said only the highest of the four, a bid of about $226,000 from Olson & Johnson of Marshall, met the 60-day delivery requirement. Commissioners were uncertain whether to award a bid, especially since replacing the truck quickly would mean accepting a high bid.
"If it doesn't meet your specifications as presented, you should not award a bid," said Lyon County Attorney Rick Maes.
Complicating matters was the fact all four bids had some parts that were not to the county's specifications. The truck bid that met 60-day delivery requirements had a fuel tank that was smaller than specified, although Kanwar said that wouldn't be a problem.
The county could opt for a state bid, Kanwar said, but that would go against the board's preference to look for local bids first.
After more discussion, commissioners voted to reject the bids for the truck and start the bidding process over.
The downside to rejecting the bids, commissioners said, is that it will mean the county highway department goes longer without a replacement truck.
Discussion of a feedlot conditional use permit for Donald DeLanghe was brought back before the county board.
DeLanghe's feedlot was the subject of much discussion by the county board in 2010 and 2011, after manure applied to fields in wet conditions led to a discharge into public waterways. The board had voted to amend DeLanghe's CUP to regulate the storage and spreading of manure from the feedlot, and last year an appeals court judge upheld the board's decision.
Lyon County Zoning Administrator John Biren said there were a couple of conditions from the amended CUP that had needed some attention, a financial assurance from DeLanghe and a manure management plan. Biren said he had been working with DeLanghe on meeting those conditions. A letter of credit for the financial assurance should have been recently sent out, Biren said, and DeLanghe was working with a crop consultant on a management plan for 2012.
"I think a lot of good moves have been made," Biren said.
In discussion of the issue, county commissioners and staff set a deadline of Aug. 1 for the county to receive management plans for 2013 and 2014. DeLanghe said he did not have a problem with the date, although he added the consultant he's working with has had trouble making a management plan because of the requirements in the amended CUP.
Commissioners accepted the resignation of Lyon County Human Resources Director Aurora Heard. Heard has accepted a position in Murray County effective later this month, Lyon County Administrator Loren Stomberg said. After some discussion as to whether the county should keep a combined human resources director/county administrator's position, commissioners also voted to advertise for a human resources director, with the goal of having the new director start work in late May.