Commission Rejects Jail HVAC Bid

The Crawford County commission rejected a bid from Ransom Heating & Cooling on October 16 that would have cost $208,558 to replace the HVAC system at the jail.

Commissioners acted upon the recommendation of Brad Dicus, the head of maintenance at the jail, who said there are changes that can be made to save money. Dicus did not want to accept bids that day, but wanted to discuss plans with Malicoat Winslow Engineers. The county is working with Malicoat on professional engineering design services.

Mike Pendleton, a retired deputy who volunteers his time to assist with maintenance at the jail, said the commission should not accept any bids unless Malicoat is present.

The county began the process of replacing the HVAC system in August. The current system has been used since 2003 and repair costs since 2011 have totaled more than $68,000.

Dicus told commissioners August 15 that a geothermal unit was designed specifically for the Crawford County Jail and would save money, but it can take up to 10 weeks to receive parts. Production must be shut down at the plant where they are created just to create them.

Crawford County Sheriff Darin Layman said they were told by the manufacturing company — the only one that designs parts for the system — that they will no longer create compressors for the system.

“When it goes out, the HVAC goes out,” Layman said.