Worcester County Commissioners have recently approved a contract for the preventive maintenance of county-owned generators, awarding Fidelity Power Systems the deal valued at $36,450 annually. The decision followed a thorough evaluation of proposals by Procurement Officer Nicholas Rice.
Rice highlighted that Fidelity Power Systems presented the most competitive bid out of five proposals received. “Fidelity offered the best value in terms of cost and service,” he noted, emphasizing that their proposal was both the most affordable and highly rated by the evaluation team.
The contract will cover approximately 80 generators across the county. However, concerns were raised by Commissioner Caryn Abbott regarding the performance of Fidelity Power Systems under the current contract. “Wasn’t there an issue with the previous inspections not being conducted properly?” Abbott inquired.
Rice addressed the concern, referencing a recent generator replacement at the county jail. “The company performed the required inspections, but there were delays in addressing recommended repairs, which we believe contributed to the need for a replacement,” he explained.
Commissioner Eric Fiori acknowledged these past issues but assured that corrective measures had been implemented. “We’ve addressed the problem by ensuring that service recommendations go directly to Public Works instead of individual department heads,” he stated.
Fiori expressed support for the contract but suggested enhancements to the maintenance program. He proposed adding a fuel scrubbing service and incorporating antifreeze replacement into the maintenance agreement. “Our generator failures often involve fuel or coolant issues,” Fiori said. “I recommend including a fuel scrubbing company and antifreeze replacement in the service agreement.”
When asked about potential cost implications for including antifreeze replacement, Rice was uncertain. “I cannot provide an exact figure at this moment,” he replied.
Despite the unresolved cost details, the commissioners unanimously approved the contract, with the inclusion of antifreeze replacement. They also decided to explore a separate contract for fuel scrubbing services.
“So, while the fuel scrubbing will be handled under a separate contract, we will add antifreeze replacement to the current agreement,” Rice confirmed.
Related topics:
