Covington County commissioners on April 22 approved several contracts and administrative actions, but expressed concern that a recently started bridge maintenance contract may not be completed within the period shown in the paperwork.

The commission gave retroactive approval to a contract with West Gulf Diving Adventures for bridge inspection and maintenance, authorized a county-owned server to be installed at the 911 office for the sheriff’s records-management system, declared multiple IT and maintenance items surplus for sale or destruction, awarded surface-treatment work to SSC Materials and Paving, and approved county vehicle use for members of the county’s rapid response/tactical team to attend an out-of-state competition.

Why it matters: The bridge contract discussion produced the meeting’s most substantive debate. Commissioners pressed for clearer timing and engineering input before work resumes, and the commission approved the contract only after staff said a follow-up contract or amendment would be brought back if work continued beyond the dates in the current agreement.

Commissioners flagged schedule and scope

Officials said the West Gulf Diving Adventures contract was written to begin in March and be completed by April. County staff and the county attorney told commissioners that the form before the board would provide retroactive approval for work already begun under the terms stated. The county attorney told the commission, “What you would be approving today is the contract that's before you. So you would be giving retroactive approval to the contract, under the terms that are proposed.”

Commissioners questioned whether the company could finish the two priority bridges—identified in the meeting as the Op Lake bridge and the Potter Road bridge—within the contract timeline and asked that no further work resume under this provider past the contract’s end date without a new contract on the commission agenda. A staff member told the board, “Work will cease on the 20 fourth with this provider, unless we receive another contract for you all to approve.”

IT server, surplus and surface-treatment approvals

Eric (county IT staff) asked the commission to approve placement of a county-owned server at the 911 office so the sheriff’s records-management system (RMS) can archive documents and operate on the same network as the 911 CAD server. Eric told the commission, “This is going to be an additional server that's going to tie into that system that allows them to do archiving, so to speak, of documents.” The commission approved sending that concept to the 911 board; commissioners also asked staff to return later with a formal quote and any required agreements.

The commission approved declaring IT and maintenance equipment surplus and authorized selling usable items on GovDeals; items that do not sell were to be destroyed. Commissioners said the surplus lists run to multiple pages and include older equipment no longer in use.

The commission also accepted a single bid and awarded surface-treatment work to SSC Materials and Paving. Staff noted material and fuel-price changes affect unit rates; the board approved the award after staff reported the most items were at slightly lower rates than last year.

Out-of-state travel and other administrative actions

The commission approved county vehicle use for four county rapid-response/tactical team members—identified in the meeting as Nick Ireland, Aaron Rodriguez, Clay Conway and Kevin Barker—to travel to a two-day event in Okaloosa County, Florida. A sheriff’s representative said all event expenses are paid and the request was approval only for use of a county vehicle.

Votes at a glance:
- Approve minutes from April 7 workshop and April 8 regular meeting — motion by Tommy; second Robbie; outcome: approved (voice vote: all aye).
- Reappoint applicant to South Central Mental Health Board (Rebecca Mullen/Malden as listed) — motion by Ben; second Robbie; outcome: approved (voice vote: all aye).
- Approve contract with West Gulf Diving Adventures (retroactive approval for bridge inspection/maintenance) — motion by Robbie; second Lynn; outcome: approved (voice vote: all aye). Commissioners directed staff to return with a new contract or amendment if work continued past the contract’s current end date.
- Approve placement of county-owned server at the 911 office (to be taken to 911 board for concurrence) — motion by Tommy; second Ben; outcome: approved (voice vote: all aye).
- Approve out-of-state travel/vehicle use for RRT/SWAT members — motion by Tommy; second Ben; outcome: approved (voice vote: all aye).
- Declare listed IT and maintenance items surplus and authorize sale/destruction — motion by Ben; second Tommy; outcome: approved (voice vote: all aye).
- Award surface-treatment contract to SSC Materials and Paving — motion by Tommy; second Lynn; outcome: approved (voice vote: all aye).
- Approve donation of $200 from contingency by multiple commissioners to the local robotics team (one motion recorded) — motion by Lee; second Tommy; outcome: approved (voice vote: all aye).

What the meeting did not do

Commissioners repeatedly requested clearer engineering timelines and preferred to approve contracts before work begins when practical. Staff told the board the current contract would be honored through the dates printed and that any extension or new work would return to the commission for approval.

Next steps

Staff will return with any required contract amendments or a new contract for continued bridge work, a formal quote and legal agreement for the server placement if the 911 board concurs, and follow-up details on surplus items and surface-treatment scheduling. The commission recessed into an executive session at the end of the meeting for continuing business and planned to reconvene to adjourn.