By Nia Fitzhugh
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
The Baltimore County Council used its work session Tuesday to consider an amendment that would continue on-call mechanical and electrical engineering services with Gipe Associates, Inc. at various county buildings.
Officials said the proposed request would increase the maximum compensation from $750,000 to $1.15 million, raising it about $400,000 for the six-year term of the contract that began in February 2016.
The proposal developed because of the large scale project partnered with the Professional Selection Service Committee to replace generators in both fire and police stations and replacing washer and dryer machines in fire stations in the county.
The project overall is to ensure that in a case of a power outage, that these institutions will still be able to operate and will have all the necessary resources, officials said.
Each location has a design cost of an estimated $20,000 and the plan has already launched seven generator projects for the fire stations that are in various stages. Some stations are ready for installation while others are either newly designed or set to be within the next three months, officials explained.
Officials said they still are working with the fire stations to determine the model and cost of the washers and dryers. Evaluations of the total cost will be determined.