FARMINGTON – County commissioners opted to rebid an 8- by 16-foot addition to the Sheriff’s Department and to explore other options after they received only one bid and that was more than they wanted to spend.

Commissioners also accepted bids Tuesday for sheriff’s vehicles, providing they meet specifications. The county received four submissions with multiple bids on each one from the different companies for vehicles.

Commissioners unanimously voted to go with Hight Chevrolet of Farmington’s bids on two Dodge Chargers for $14,800 and $15,300, factoring in trade-ins, and with Farmington Ford’s bid of $23,746.32 for a Ford Expedition.

The vehicle account had $65,000 in it and the expense of the new vehicles totaled $53,846.32 with some of the remaining money in the account to be used to equip the vehicles as cruisers.

Farmington Construction was the only bidder for the addition, needed to house upgraded 9-1-1 communications equipment at the sheriff’s office.

The bid came in at $15,946 and was originally thought not to include the concrete but after perusal by county Treasurer Karen Robinson it was determined it did include it.

With time constraints on getting the addition done eased somewhat, commissioners decided to re-advertise and also have Sheriff Dennis Pike send bid packages to local contractors to see if they can get more action and better pricing.

Pike was also directed to look at alternatives, including temporary options such as a trailer to house the new equipment since a new dispatch center is needed.

The time line for installing the equipment was delayed by at least two weeks after a glitch in the emergency system was discovered. It’s being worked out.

In other business, commissioners advised William O’Brien of Salem Township that he would need to submit a petition to reopen Reed Road for winter maintenance. No one had lived beyond the area in question year-round prior to the O’Brien family moving in a short while ago.