Sweetwater County will be able to purchase vehicles and make security upgrades for county departments and buildings thanks to coronavirus state and local fiscal recovery funds.
During their meeting last week, the commissioners approved several purchases for the county, all of which will use federal funds the county received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
The commissioners previously approved the use of local recovery funds for revenue loss and have already allocated $714,148.23 for emergency vehicles for the coroner’s office and the sheriff’s office.
The projects approved by the commissioners during the May 3 meeting represented a total of $1.7 million. An available balance of 70% of the total of the awarded funds will still remain after these purchases are made, according to Sweetwater County Grants Manager Krisena Marchal.
“All these projects are equitable to all residents of Sweetwater County,” Marchal said. She said the projects are important for public safety and law enforcement services as well as carrying out statutory and other government services for the community.
The first item approved by the commissioners is an emergency water rescue patrol and recovery boat and an included trailer for the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.
“This is a vital piece of equipment,” Sheriff Grossnickle told the commissioners, explaining being able to conduct recoveries from the Flaming Gorge brings closure to families after tragedies. “We don’t ever want to have to use it but unfortunately we do.”
The total request for purchasing the boat was $297,000. The boat will replace the sheriff’s office current patrol boat, which is 46 years old, unreliable due to mechanical issues and not equipped for full services. The new boat will also be easier to maintain than the current boat, according to Grossnickle.
The commissioners also approved the purchase of vehicles for five different county departments. These purchases will include one vehicle for the County Attorney’s Office for $40,800, one delivery truck for the Purchasing Department for $36,647, two three-quarter ton pickups for the Road and Bridge Department for $83,720, three vehicles for Fleet and Vehicle Maintenance for $136,000 and a field vehicle for the County Assessor’s Office for $50,000. The total vehicle cost adds up to $347,167. All the vehicles are replacements for older vehicles or part of a vehicle rotation strategy.
The next approved purchase was to upgrade the county detention center’s security door and camera system. These purchases would maintain security standards by replacing the nearly-obsolete door control system and outdated cameras, Marchal explained. The door system upgrade will cost $605,000 while the camera system upgrade will cost $385,000.
The final purchase the commissioners approved was to upgrade the county’s door control system with door lock consolidation at the Sweetwater County Courthouse, Purchasing Department, and the Health and Human Services building. This system would improve security and efficiency, Marchal said. The request was for $120,000.
Tim Knight, the county’s IT director, explained the county currently has four different door lock systems in various buildings, and the system at the county courthouse requires going around to each door to lock it, which is inefficient during situations like the recent lockdown at the courthouse. The plan is to take the system used at the justice center and expand it to other buildings. The current plan is only to update systems for exterior doors. Interior doors could be incorporated in the future but were not included in this plan due to costs, according to Director of Public Works Gene Legerski. Interior doors are also more complicated because they have to comply with certain rules for fire safety, Legerski explained.
Commissioner Randy Wendling recommended looking into upgrading the interior doors as well since ARPA funds are being used.
All the projects approved by the commissioners were originally delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and significant revenue losses to the county, according to Marchal. The mixture of one-time purchases and one-time maintenance projects are anticipated to ultimately save county funds and have lasting impacts for many years.
All the projects were also submitted to the county’s capital committee before being presented to the commissioners, and several of the projects were ranked high in priority by the capital committee, Marchal explained.
Marchal also noted the costs presented are approximations based on February 2022 figures but actual costs could be higher due to inflation, and some of the projects could take some time to implement.
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