Wednesday, May 28, 1997
Service promise lands firm equipment contract
By JERRY DANIEL REED / Abilene Reporter-News
Promised service after the sale landed West Texas Equipment
Co. the contract to supply Taylor County two motor graders to
maintain Precinct 2 roads.
West Texas Equipment's dollar bid was $2,112 more per machine
than AIS Continental's, but county purchasing agent Larry Bevill
told commissioners Tuesday that WTE's total warranty package far
exceeds that of AIS.
AIS representative James Downs did not dispute the point.
"I feel that with the warranties involved in it, West
Texas' is probably going to be the low bid, if you get into mechanical
failure down the line," Downs said.
As the nominal low bidder, AIS was entitled to notice and an
opportunity to present its case before commissioners could award
the bid to another contractor.
The total purchase price for the two Caterpillar 140H variable
horsepower graders is $273,632, with a guaranteed minimum repurchase
of $58,800 per machine. The county, however, is not obligated
to sell the machines back to the vendor after five years or 5,000
hours of use.
The warranty covers six months for parts and labor plus a five-year,
7,500-hour power train warranty. It also caps maintenance costs
under 5,000 hours or five years, excluding items normally consumed
in use, such as filters, fan belts, tires, and fluids, as well
as glass.
AIS offered a one-year, 1,500-hour power train warranty.
Commissioners also:
-- Created a line item to pay for Taylor County Child Protective
Services public notices seeking to locate parents of children
served by the agency, so those parents can attend court proceedings
such as removal of a child from a home or, rarely, termination
of parental rights.
In the past, those ads have been paid out of the budget of
Criminal District Attorney James Eidson, but Eidson recently concluded
that the costs should be borne by the client, Child Protective
Services.
Commissioners transferred $400 into the line item to cover
ads placed the rest of fiscal year 1997, which ends Sept. 30.
-- Awarded Sweetwater Steel Co. the contract to supply building
materials for the roof and roof support to cover the cattle pens
at the Taylor County Expo Center, for $39,095.53.
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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