By Shavonne Potts
spotts@salisburypost.com
LANDIS ó The board revisited for the final time its concerns with McGavran Engineering for utililty pole attachment work.
At its Monday meeting, the board approved the final contract, which was rewritten by Town Attorney Rick Locklear to reflect the price the board originally discussed with the Charlotte-based company about three months ago.
The agreed-upon price was $30,000 for the all of the work. However, McGavran sent the town a $5,000 bill for work done early when the board and the engineering company had not yet signed a contract.
Mayor Dennis Brown said McGavran officials said they’d agree with the final contract.
“This is 90 days old. Let’s get this done,” Brown said.
The board first talked about pole attachments in April when it decided to charge higher rental rates for utility pole attachments.
The redrafted contract also covered Global Positioning System mapping and inventory of the poles.
The board also:
– Chose to contract with North Star Marketing-Communications Inc. in Burlington to create the town’s Web site.
In August, the board heard presentations from two North Carolina Web design companies ó Red Enterprises of North Carolina, based in China Grove and North Star.
The board was still trying to decide between the two on Monday.
According to its contract, North Star said it would cost between $16,000 to $18,000.
Red Enterprises set its cost at $17,000.
The board debated whether to go with the local company, Red Enterprises, or with North Star.
Alderman Tony Hilton called the two companies pretty equal in their features.
Mayor Brown had issues with Red, which didn’t show a cap in its cost.
Red Enterprises spokesman David Ross said during the Monday meeting the company didn’t generally go over its estimate, as long as the town stayed within the guidelines set forth in the contract.
“Both presentations were great. I like North Star better,” said Alderman Roger Safrit.
Safrit then made the motion to accept North Star’s bid.
The town had a site but was unhappy with it and disabled it. The site was launched in early 2007.
– Accepted bid quotes from two car dealerships for two new police patrol vehicles and two lights/administration vehicles.
Alderman James Furr questioned whether the board could split the quotes and choose a lower-priced vehicle from a different company rather than the bid package as a whole.
Town Administrator Reed Linn said aldermen could split the vehicles across two companies.
The board approved purchasing a 2008 Chrysler Aspen SUV for $27,866.55 from Lake Norman Chrysler/Dodge in Cornelius.
The board also approved the purchase of two 2008 Crown Victoria Police Interceptors for $22,235 each and a 2008 F250 four-door, four-wheel drive from Hilbish Motor Company in Kannapolis.
– Approved participation in the N.C. League of Municipalities Wellness Initiative at no cost to the town.
The board received information about participating in the wellness program at a previous meeting but opted out.
The league’s Risk Management Services Board of Trustees voted to provide the service to its members who participate in the medical and workers compensation pools.The catch, Linn said, was once employees enroll, they must remain in the program or reimburse the town $150, the cost per employee to be in the program.
The program includes workshops on blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, aerobic exercise, stroke and several other health issues.