COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – The Branch County Board of Commissioners approved a bid from Excell Paving Plus of Coldwater Tuesday for the paving of the parking lots at the Branch County Jail. Excell submitted a bid of $47,850 for 559 tons at $85.60 per ton. Thompson Construction had a bid of $43,974 for 455 tons at $96.65 per ton.
A four person committee reviewed the bids and considered 11 areas before they recommended to Commissioners to accept the Excell bid. Commissioner Terri Norris asked that references be included the next time a project goes out for bid.
Commissioners gave the Sheriff’s Department permission Tuesday to put three Crown Victoria vehicles on the auction block on July 8th. Two of the vehicles were made in 2011, the other is a 2005 model.
Commissioners also accepted annual reports from the Friend of the Court and the Equalization Department on Tuesday. Friend of the Court Director and Referee Lona Julien said in her report that support collections totaled over $6.7 million in 2016 which was about $6,000 less than 2015 but almost $400,000 more than in 2012. She pointed out several positive changes in the office saying there is improved customer service and redesigned office space to provide for less contigouous enviroments for resolutions.
The Equalization Report showed that the Equalized Value in the county has gone up each year since 2012 when it was over $1.6 billion. The 2017 E.V. was listed at about $1.949 billion. The E.V. in Branch County went up every year from 1996 until 2008. Then it went down for four straight years following the recession and the 2008 stock market crash.
