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554 The Board of Commissioners for the County of Cabarrus met in recessed session in the Commissioners' Meeting Room at the Cabarrus County Governmental Center in Concord, North Carolina on Friday, March 20, 1998, at 5:30 P.M. Present - Chairman: Sue B. Casper Vice-Chairman: Carolyn B. Carpenter Commissioners: Jeffrey L. Barnhart Dr. Franklin C. Niblock, Jr. Absent - Commissioner: Kenneth Mills Also present were Mr. Frank W. Clifton, Jr., County Manager; Mr. Fletcher L. Hartsell, Jr., County Attorney; and Mrs. Frankie F. Bonds, Clerk to the Board. Chairman Casper called the meeting to order at 5:30 P.M. Sample panels from both Forms and Supply and Office Innovations were available for inspection. At the request of Mr. Clifton, Board members took several minutes to inspect and compare the quality of the sample panels. Mr. Clifton reviewed the panel system workstations bid specifications and discussed the two main issues involving a minimum height of 64 inches and a minimum interior working area of 80 square feet. He stated the panel bid by Forms and Supply did not meet the minimum height specification although the company had offered to provide at no additional charge a taller top cap which, along with the extension of the levelers on the bottom of the panels, could be used to increase the panel height. Also, he reported the Forms and Supply panel provided a smaller interior working area (7'6" x 10') rather than the minimum required working area (8' x 10'). Mr. Clifton pointed out that the panel bid by office Innovations did meet both minimum requirements. He further advised that the architect was aware of the space issue and had estimated that a small percentage of the 217 cubicles/panels may need to be adjusted. Also, Mr. Clifton pointed out the quality differential of the panels bid by the two companies. Chairman Casper stated for the record that she had received a telephone call from an individual in a similar business who expressed displeasure with the Board's consideration of the product bid by Forms and Supply. She reported the caller had indicated if the County was willing to accept a substitute product from Forms and Supply he would like the County to rebid the panel systems so he could compete on the same product. Stating that Forms and Supply did not meet bid specifications and did not take exception to the specifications, Commissioner Barnhart moved to award the panel system bid to Office Innovations, the low bidder meeting specifications, in the amount of $360,401.28 plus installation of $28,464.00 ($388,865.28 total). The motion was seconded by Chairman Casper and approved by the following vote: Voting for - Chairman Casper and Commissioners Barnhart and Niblock; Voting against - Commissioner Carpenter. Chairman Casper opened the meeting for comments from members of the audience. Ms. Donna Jordan, representative of Forms and Supply, expressed concern about the County's bid process, the lack of opportunity by the company to have lines of communication about what was expected and needed by the County and the installation cost for the Office Innovations panel systems. She also questioned the County's request for the company to set up a prototype of its product if the product did not meet specifications. Mr. Ken Williams, owner and operator of Williams Office Supply, expressed concern about the County's bid process and staff's evaluation of products that are bid. He stated in his opinion staff should determine the lowest bidder meeting all minimum requirements and negotiate downward with that vendor rather than accept a lower cost for a product that does not meet the specifications. Ms. Sherri Barnhardt, Purchasing Agent, gave a brief overview of the County's bid process. There being no further business to come before the Board, Chairman Casper recessed the meeting at 6:10 P.M. until 6:00 P.M. on Thursday, April 2, 1998. Clerk to the Board