A new access control and video surveillance system is coming to some of Washington County’s buildings. At their meeting Tuesday, the Washington County Board of Supervisors awarded a bid to Tri City Electric for $526,016. County Engineer Jacob Thorius said a committee looked at a variety of options and systems over the last couple of years, “It boils down to preference, are you a Ford guy or a Chevy guy? Are you a Ford guy or a Rolls-Royce? We’re not doing Rolls-Royce and we’re not doing the Pinto. We’re doing something in-between. You can do whatever options you want out there. And we looked at this system during the last two-and-a-half years, looking at what other school districts have in the community and banks, and some of the capabilities that are available to the sheriff’s office was a plus for this system. There are numerous options on everything, this is what we came up with, we thought was the best recommendation for the county.”

The county received two bids. The awarded bid will include putting in a system at the Washington County Courthouse, updating the jail’s system, and installing them in buildings 3 and 4 at the Orchard Hill Complex. The county had budgeted $550,000 for the project. The board had originally sought bids for a more encompassing project, but when the proposals came back more than $100,000 over budget the supervisors revised the ask and set a base package with alternates. The contract was approved Tuesday with three voting for it, Supervisor Abe Miller in opposition, and Supervisor Jack Seward absent.