Officials are moving forward with plans to replace a window in the Berks County Services Center that was struck by a bullet this month.
An investigation into the Oct. 6 incident revealed that a bullet fired randomly from several blocks away pierced a window on the 16th floor of the building in the 600 block of Court Street in Reading, according to Chief Operations Officer Kevin Barnhardt.
No one was in the office at the time, he said.
Barnhardt said the incident happened sometime that afternoon. He said Reading police and county detectives were informed of the situation immediately after the bullet hole was discovered.
During a meeting Thursday, the county commissioners took the necessary steps to replace the broken window.
They unanimously adopted a resolution declaring an emergency with respect to the damages — waiving any and all requirements of procurement law. The move will allow county personnel to issue a purchase order for the replacement of the window at a cost not to exceed $50,000.
In circumstances where an emergency affecting the public health, safety or welfare requires the immediate delivery of goods or the performance of services, a contract may be awarded without public bidding regardless of the bid threshold.
Barnhardt told the commissioners that the flexibility that comes with waiving procurement law is needed in this case.
“We have a severely damaged window that needs to be replaced,” Barnhardt said. “It has been difficult finding a firm that has the capability to replace a 16th-floor window so facilities staff are in negotiations with two firms out of Philadelphia that deal with high-rise structures.”
Commissioners Chairman Christian Leinbach agreed, noting that if the county went through the normal process they would be looking at months before the window could be replaced.
“The blessing is that no one was injured,” he said. “It is my understanding one of our employees had been there moments before.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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