MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Monongalia County Commission will consider an agreement to have Enterprise Fleet Management Services provide vehicles that will be purchased for county use.
The commission unanimously approved moving forward with the request for proposal during their regular meeting Wednesday as the only response to the RFP by the county. Commissioner Sean Sikora discussed aspects of the RFP that were reviewed by members of the commission, as well as county administrators, ahead of the commission’s vote to further consider the proposal.
“Recommend the evaluation of the cost proposal received from Enterprise in response to the RFP, and authorize the evaluation team to negotiate an agreement to bring back to the commission for final approval and execution,” said Sikora on what was approved by the commission on Wednesday.
According to Sikora, a study of the RFP submitted by Enterprise Fleet Management determined several highlights that prompted county administrators to recommend the offer. This included feedback from Monongalia County Motor Pool Director Chris Pompili and County Administrator Rennetta McClure, who joined Sikora in the three-person evaluation team. After discussions with the lead administrator for the county along with the person who will directly deal with the company if the RFP is fully approved, Sikora expressed confidence that the county could move forward once a final lookover of the contract takes place.
“All three of us have rated them in such a way that they meet the minimum requirements, and they have very much gone above and beyond,” said Sikora. “Their score overall was about 86.67 of the available points.”
With Enterprise Fleet Management being the only company to submit to the RFP, Sikora stated that the commission aims to follow up on some more due diligence ahead of formally approving the proposal. This will allow for the county to negotiate on a finalized contract with hopes to have a contract ready for the commission’s approval before the end of the spring.
“Usually with multiple submittals, we would open them in this meeting, note what they are, and then we go off and do our analysis,” said Sikora. “But with just one, what I would recommend is that the commission approve our committee proceeding with evaluating the cost proposal.”
The Monongalia County vehicle fleet currently consists of over 100 vehicles that are used for county services. This includes just over 40 vehicles that are used by the Monongalia County Sheriff’s Department as well as vehicles used by the Monongalia County Parks and Recreation Department and the Monongalia County Department of Emergency Management, among others. With the inevitable costs of replacing and upkeeping vehicles expected to remain high as a result of inflation, the commission hopes to have formal approval of the RFP in the coming weeks.
“Proceeding with evaluating the cost proposal and negotiating as necessary with Enterprise,” said Sikora. “So that we get to a point where we’re bringing a final agreement back to this body for overall approval.”