By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
EL RENO – The Canadian County Sheriff’s Office is getting a new machine to check inmates for drugs, weapons and other contraband as they enter the county jail.
Canadian County commissioners, at their weekly meeting May 2, awarded a $147,000 bid to Tek 84, Inc. to install a full body scanner in the jail’s receiving area.
“It’s a much-needed tool for intaking prisoners,” Canadian County Commission Chairman Dave Anderson said.
Tek 84, Inc. had the highest price among four vendors submitting bids.
Other companies seeking the contract were ChemImage Corp. ($105,000), OD Security North America LLC ($125,000) and Command Sourcing Inc. ($146,900).
Commissioners went with the high bid at the recommendation of Canadian County Jail Administrator Kristie Carter, who said the jail’s intake area can accommodate Tek 84’s 3 foot by 6 foot body scanner.
The other vendors’ bids were for machines that would be too large for the space – 9 feet by 7 feet and 7 feet by 6 feet.
“We just don’t have the jail facility layout to put one of those size machines in there,” Carter told commissioners.
Had commissioners awarded one of the other three bids, Carter pointed out there would be required construction costs to make room for a larger-size machine.
Canadian County’s jail administrator went to the Garfield County Jail last week to view Tek 84’s body scanning machine, which she said has no moving parts and is “less likely to break down.”
Although Tek 84’s price was higher than the others, Chairman Anderson supported Carter’s recommendation for the reasons she gave.
“We always consider what’s the lowest and best (bid),” he told Carter. “Thanks for the work that you did to research what would be the lowest and best.”
County general fund dollars could be used for this equipment purchase if needed, District 1 Commissioner Marc Hader said.
Canadian County Undersheriff Kevin Ward previously cited recent incidents of Canadian County inmates being caught with contraband inside the county’s detention center, 304 N Evans.
On March 6, an inmate died after overdosing on drugs allegedly provided by another inmate.
On March 27, an inmate allegedly started a fire inside a jail cell.
In recent months, several inmates have been charged with having hand-fashioned weapons used to attack fellow prisoners.
State law makes it illegal for occupants of county jails or state prisoners to have any narcotics, weapons, explosives, incendiary devices, intoxicating beverage, or money.
On May 2, there were 223 inmates in Canadian County Sheriff’s Office custody – 179 at the jail in El Reno and 44 housed in other counties.
THIS AND THAT …
In other business at its May 2nd meeting, Canadian County Commissioners approved resolutions with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation for:
- A bridge project on 192nd Street NW over Uncle John Creek east of Highway 81 and south of Highway 3 in District 1.
- A grade, drain and surface project on 192nd Street from Calumet Road seven miles east to Reformatory Road in District 1.
- A grade, drain and intersection improvements project at Banner and Jensen roads in District 3.
- A bridge project on Jensen Road over Purcell Creek east of Banner Road in District 3.
Meanwhile, county commissioners awarded an $8,169.62 quote to Ezell’s Refrigeration to replace the HVAC (heating, venting and air conditioning) unit in the county jail server room. A second quote was for $8,699.
Also, commissioners opened seven bids ranging from $68,660 to $113,880 for a detachable lowboy in District 3. The contract award was tabled one week to analyze the bids.
