The Cibola County Board of Commissioners held a special meeting on Thursday, April 14, at 5:00 p.m. All commissioners were present except for Commissioner Ralph Lucero. The agenda was approved as presented, and there were no public comments. The sole purpose of Thursday’s special meeting was to take action on the “Consideration of Selection of Offeror and Award of Contract for Construction of the Public Safety Building Interior Improvements per RFP NO. 2022-002.” At the last regular commission meeting, Cibola County Manager Kate Fletcher told the board that she felt a spe cial meeting was necessary to keep the momentum of the project going and moving forward. The county would be receiving and scoring bids for the Public Safety Building RFP (Request for Proposal) following the regular meeting, so a special meeting was created once the bids were scored.
During the special meeting, Manager Fletcher handed the floor over to Cibola County Procurement Officer Wendy Self, who informed the commission that the county went out for RFP and received two bids in response. Self said the scores were very close between the two companies, and that they would be contracting a good company either direction they went. Fletcher agreed, saying they were lucky to have received bids from the two companies, both from Albuquerque, NM.
Despite the closed scores, Self said that the scoring committee recommended awarding and contracting with ESA Construction, Inc. One detail that gave ESA a higher score in the end was that they were less expensive, said Self. Commissioner Christine Lowery did inquire about ESA’s completion rate/history, to which Self replied that ESA’s completion rate was actually a bit lower than the other company’s, but that their justification for it was reasonable, citing a previous project where an employer changed and extended the work during the project.
Commissioner Robert Windhorst’s only inquiries were to confirm that the financial numbers and business side of the project would not change throughout the project – starting off at one estimate and then ending at a completely different number by the end, as happens with many projects. Self and Fletcher reassured the board that the county was working very hard to make sure that wouldn’t happen and that the numbers would stay as consistent as possible throughout the project. Fletcher did mention, however, that it is not always in their control regarding situations where there are material shortages and price fluctuations in response; but that the county was certainly working to avoid that as much as possible. To stay on top of the project and help reduce the chances of stalling due to shortages, Self said the company would be ordering supplies right away, upon receiving an award letter alerting them that they have been chosen for the project. That is why the special meeting was needed – to have the commission award one of the two companies as quickly as possible so that they could be alerted and then start ordering supplies.
According to Self, should the rest of the project go smoothly without any hitches, ESA is expecting to have the project done by January of 2023. The armory building will be renovated to become the new Public Safety Building, where all county emergency departments will reside – Cibola County Sheriff's Office, Cibola County Emergency Management, and EMS dispatch services.
The county and the commission have all been in support of this project, the way it will save money through consolidation of departments, and the way it will give emergency departments a special place that will meet their needs. All parties are excited to see the project one step closer to being complete. A motion to award and contract EMS Construction, Inc for the Public Safety Building project was made by Commissioner Windhorst, seconded by Commissioner Martha Garcia, and approved by all.