The entrance to One Montgomery Plaza in Norristown, where many county offices are housed. (Photo courtesy Montgomery County Commissioners)
Montgomery County health officials planning to install a “health and hygiene vending machine” took a step toward finding a manufacturer on Thursday.
County commissioners authorized the advertisement of a request for proposals as part of a three-item package during Thursday’s meeting. Issued on behalf of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. The vending machine would be used to “dispense free and low barrier health products including hygiene products and COVID/flu tests, as well as harm reduction supplies such as Narcan and drug test strips.”
The vending machine would be covered through monies from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Overdose Data to Action cooperative agreement and opioid settlement funds. It’s unclear when submissions will be due or how many machines expect to be procured.
In other business, county commissioners authorized more than $1.2 million in a series of contract amendments, awards and renewals included in the six-item package. Of note, a previously authorized agreement between the Montgomery County Planning Commission and Traffic Planning & Design, of Pottstown, for work on ongoing bridge replacement projects required roughly $591,148 more.
The original contract covered “preliminary engineering, final design, construction support services, and right-of-way acquisition services” related to bridges along Ridge Pike and a stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The contract cited “additional work hours” for needing additional funding “due to a major utility change, additional erosion and sedimentation considerations, and a lighting study that were identified.”
Federal monies and changes endorsed by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation were expected to “fully fund costs” related to the lightning study, utility engineering, grade crossing activities, and sediment control plan, right-of-way acquisition services, as well as a permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
The contract now stands at around $5.24 million.
Additionally, around $492,870 was designated for two contracts related to the Montgomery County Office of Voter Services. The two awarded five-year contracts “provide election management software for poll workers and campaign finance compliance tracking.”
A roughly $304,369 agreement with the Richmond, Virginia-based Soch Inc. covered “poll worker management,” while an approximate $188,501 agreement with U.S. Digital Response, of Oakland, California covered “campaign finance compliance tracking.”
A previously advertised request for proposals netted nine responses, but county officials endorsed the two aforementioned firms.
The next Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 9 on the eighth floor of One Montgomery Plaza, 425 Swede St., Norristown. Those interested in attending the meeting can also do so virtually. Visit montgomerycountypa.gov for more information.
