Mohave County Grants Coordinator Barbara Blythe (left) and Procurement Officer Terri Williams pose in the Board of Supervisors auditorium in Kingman. Mohave County photo.
KINGMAN – Mohave County’s Community Services and Procurement departments will present a Vendor Fair for local contractors in March.
All Mohave County-based contractors “who are properly licensed with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors and in good standing” are being invited to attend the informational meeting to be held from 9 a.m. through noon, Thursday, March 4, in the Senita Room at the County Administration Building in Kingman.
“We are hoping to add qualified contractors to our roster to provide services for our Housing programs,” Mohave County Grants Coordinator Barbara Blythe said. “We are looking for contractors for electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, remodeling, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accommodation and weatherization with solar and green energy specialties and other housing rehabilitation services. We are currently expanding into the weatherization field and are partnering with WACOG (Western Arizona Council of Governments) to provide services throughout Mohave County under that agency’s contract with the U.S. Department of Energy.”
Contractors will be used for emergency (minor) and moderate home rehabilitation, weatherization, CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funded work, county cleanup and more, she said.
Contractors have been feeling the pain of the current economy, she said. “Some contractors may not know that there is grant-funded work available. We have these programs to assist low-income elderly, disabled and families with children. We work to help seniors and disabled people live healthy lives in their own homes. By expanding our roster of contractors, we can do more projects at one time. It will also lead to more competition, more competitive prices and, therefore, allow us to afford to do more homes.”
Mandated procurement procedures will be explained during the fair and interested contractors will have the opportunity to process paperwork to become registered with Mohave County.
“We will give a PowerPoint presentation,” Procurement Officer Terri Williams said. “We will present a history of the Community Services Department and focus in on specific programs and how Procurement interfaces to get projects completed. Things like the competitive bidding process, insurance requirements, transparency and the differences between private and public procurement will be discussed.”
The types of Community Services Department projects vary, she said. For instance, Emergency Rehabilitation Services are set at $15,000 or less and must be completed in 14 days. Moderate Housing Rehabilitation services are $35,000 or less with 45 days to completion. CDBG County Cleanup Services are $30,000 or less with 45 days to completion. And Weatherization work is maxed at between $4,000 and $4,500 and must be done within 15 days.
“This isn’t a short-term thing,” Blythe said. “For the past 16 years we have had federal and state grants fund housing rehab. We are now going into this partnership with WACOG for the Weatherization program. The Vendor Fair is an opportunity for good contractors to join our team and for us to explain the different programs we handle and the requirements necessary.
“I have to say that we presently have wonderful, caring businesses that work with us on these projects,” she said. “The contractors go the extra mile to help our clients. I am very proud of them and I know there are more businesses out there that can help us help our clients.”
“This Vendor Fair will be the first of a series of informational meetings that Procurement is planning,” Williams said. “Down the road, we are hoping to hold a more-general Vendor Fair for all businesses that offer services or goods of any kind. It will be prepared in the same format – explaining the mandated function of the Procurement Department, how we try to work with the local community and how the local businesses can work with us.”
Governing agencies cannot shop locally if local businesses do not get involved with the legally mandated procurement process, she said. “There is paperwork involved, but we are here to help to prevent it from becoming intimidating.”
During the Vendor Fair, information regarding other agencies and opportunities will be offered. For more information regarding the March 4 Mohave County Contractor Vendor Fair, call Blythe at (928) 303-9419 or Williams at (928) 753-0752, ext. 1.
