OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

May 6, 2026 Meeting of the Office of Public Health and Safety Board

Other Meetings (A-H) — Wednesday, May 6, 2026
BodyIndianapolis, Indiana
SessionOther Meetings (A-H)
DateWednesday, May 6, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 48:21

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

All right.

0:01

Well, good morning, everyone, and welcome to the May 6th meeting of the Office of the Board of the Board of the Office of Public Health and Safety, excuse me.

0:09

Umrew Merkley, the director of the Office of Public Health and Safety.

0:14

Abby, can you please call the roll?

0:16

Yes, sir.

0:17

I at least present.

0:21

Ingram present.

0:22

Webster.

0:23

Present.

0:24

I have no point.

0:25

Thanks, Abby.

0:26

All right.

0:26

Has everybody had an opportunity to review the minutes from last month?

0:30

Any questions or discussion?

0:34

All right, hearing none, I'll um entertain uh a motion to adopt the minutes from last month.

0:41

So moved.

0:43

All in favor?

0:44

Aye.

0:45

Alright.

0:45

Any opposed?

0:46

Hearing none, the motion passes.

0:48

Okay, we'll move on to the first item on the agenda, item 050626A.

0:55

We'll hear from Chief.

0:58

Thank you.

0:58

So it says uh Seth Farrell uh was going to be presenting.

1:02

I uh was I had a cancellation.

1:05

So I am Kevin Wedhington, I'm the deputy chief for administration for IMPD.

1:10

I'm here for two matters.

1:12

First one uh being item A, uh requesting permission to renew a contract with um Ray O'Haren.

1:22

Uh, this is the provider we use to buy our service pistols.

1:26

Uh we have an existing contract with them that went out to public bid the last time.

1:32

Um we there was a renewal clause in the contract.

1:36

We contacted the vendor and they were willing to renew the contract, uh, with a slight increase uh two dollars uh per pistol, um which is pretty phenomenal that they held pricing uh over two years and only gave us a two-dollar increase uh bringing the cost uh per pistol to five hundred and thirty two dollars and fifty cents, which is again two dollars over existing contract.

2:06

Uh again, this was uh publicly competed and they were uh lowest in responsive bidder the last time and the uh contract contained a renewal clause, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

2:22

Questions?

2:24

Yes, looking at trying to sort through this contract and looking at the agenda, and it says there's not a not to exceed amount for this contract.

2:36

Correct.

2:36

Can you explain why?

2:38

So, we don't know how many pistols we're gonna need.

2:43

Um, so the not to exceed um has been kind of a uh complicator uh of late that if we think we're gonna buy a hundred pistols, let's say, uh, and and we put a fifty thousand dollar NTE on there, then we have to come back to the board to ask, can we buy more pistols?

3:06

Um, but if we say can we have an NTE of a million dollars, the controller makes us obligate that money, and we can't use that for other things.

3:18

So that so the NTE, and and I might defer to legal counsel for how to answer this question.

3:25

It's it's become kind of a double-edged sword.

3:28

Um that if we declare an NTE, that's what this board approves, and then that's what we are obligating out of our current year budget.

3:38

So we have found that if we don't include the NTE on something like this for a goods or service, it's better for the overall process.

3:50

I would just add the contract deals with the relationship with the vendor internally.

3:57

There's controls through the people soft system for the requisition.

4:01

So the department has to fund it in order to expend the month.

4:05

And if it uh doesn't fund it, then the one that's spending the month.

4:10

So if you put a not to exceed amount on a widget, you don't know how many you're gonna order, and just this takes more time to either go back to the board, draft a new agreement.

4:24

Um should be prevented for that point.

4:29

Well, for the sake of consistency, though, we have consistently said in this group over the past at least two years that we were let me speak for Duane.

4:38

Dwayne has been uncomfortable with NTEs and the lack of consistency with that with contracts across the board with I of D, IMPD, uh, and any other group that's come across this board.

4:52

So again, I'm a little bit uncomfortable with NT with an NTE without a dollar amount, um, because it's kind of an open purse book.

5:01

Open open checkbook.

4:59

If I could, there's one other caveat that makes this one a little different.

5:11

We are also getting ready to or have already released a new public bid.

5:17

So Glock has come out with a new Gen 6 pistol, and that is we've bought four of them, we've tested them.

5:25

We're probably gonna move to that platform.

5:28

That is going out for public competition as well.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████76%
Affordable Housing██████████17%
Engineering And Infrastructure██3%
Fiscal Sustainability██3%
Procedural█1%
Summary of Proceedings

May 6, 2026 Meeting of the Office of Public Health and Safety Board

The Board of the Office of Public Health and Safety convened on May 6, 2026, at 14:45 UTC (morning local time). The meeting covered three main agenda items: renewal of a service pistol contract, approval of a body armor and protective equipment contract, and authorization for vertical construction of the Housing Hub project. All items were approved with amendments.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: The board unanimously adopted the minutes from the previous month's meeting without discussion.

Discussion Items

  • Item 050626A – Pistol Contract Renewal (Ray O'Haren): Deputy Chief Kevin Wedhington (IMPD) requested permission to renew a contract for service pistols with Ray O'Haren. The original contract was publicly competed, and the renewal included a $2 per pistol increase ($532.50 per pistol). The board questioned the absence of a not-to-exceed (NTE) amount. Wedhington explained that NTE limits flexibility and that a new bid for the Gen 6 Glock pistol is being prepared; this renewal serves as a backup. After discussion, the board amended the resolution to include an NTE of $160,000 (covering up to 300 pistols over two years). The amended item was unanimously approved.
  • Item 050626B – Body Armor and Protective Equipment Contract: Wedhington presented a contract for seven types of ballistic vests, carriers, hard armor plates, and helmets. The bid was publicly competed; one local vendor, Star Uniform (Marion County), was selected as the lowest responsive bidder. The resolution initially lacked an NTE and an incomplete description of items. The board amended the resolution to include all seven bid items and an NTE of $2 million, covering known annual purchases and potential grant-funded items. The amended item passed unanimously.
  • Item 050626C – Housing Hub Vertical Construction Contract: Dustin Jones (Shrewsbury & Associates) and Aaron Shounce (Senior Policy Advisor to Mayor Hogsett) provided an update. Site work (horizontal construction) is underway. The guaranteed maximum price (GMP) package for vertical construction was presented, with a total project budget that is $330,000 positive. The package includes a 4% owner contingency and 3% contractor contingency. Two bid packages (concrete, doors/hardware) are self-performed by Shield Sexton; one bid (paint) was disqualified due to missing documents. Cost savings of $660,000 were identified in general trades and electrical packages. The only remaining allowance is for windows/glazing ($700,000). Items not yet bid are furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E). The board approved the item, with the director's execution contingent on finalizing the project schedule. Substantial completion is targeted for August 2027, with a revised schedule aiming for September 2027.

Key Outcomes

  • Item 050626A: Approved with amendment to include a $160,000 NTE. (Unanimous)
  • Item 050626B: Approved with amendment to include all seven bid items and a $2 million NTE. (Unanimous)
  • Item 050626C: Approved; director to execute after final schedule agreement. (Unanimous)
  • The meeting adjourned after concluding all agenda items.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Well, good morning, everyone, and welcome to the May 6th meeting of the Office of the Board of the Board of the Office of Public Health and Safety, excuse me. Umrew Merkley, the director of the Office of Public Health and Safety. Abby, can you please call the roll? Yes, sir. I at least present. Ingram present. Webster. Present. I have no point. Thanks, Abby. All right. Has everybody had an opportunity to review the minutes from last month? Any questions or discussion? All right, hearing none, I'll um entertain uh a motion to adopt the minutes from last month. So moved. All in favor? Aye. Alright. Any opposed? Hearing none, the motion passes. Okay, we'll move on to the first item on the agenda, item 050626A. We'll hear from Chief. Thank you. So it says uh Seth Farrell uh was going to be presenting. I uh was I had a cancellation. So I am Kevin Wedhington, I'm the deputy chief for administration for IMPD. I'm here for two matters. First one uh being item A, uh requesting permission to renew a contract with um Ray O'Haren. Uh, this is the provider we use to buy our service pistols. Uh we have an existing contract with them that went out to public bid the last time. Um we there was a renewal clause in the contract. We contacted the vendor and they were willing to renew the contract, uh, with a slight increase uh two dollars uh per pistol, um which is pretty phenomenal that they held pricing uh over two years and only gave us a two-dollar increase uh bringing the cost uh per pistol to five hundred and thirty two dollars and fifty cents, which is again two dollars over existing contract. Uh again, this was uh publicly competed and they were uh lowest in responsive bidder the last time and the uh contract contained a renewal clause, and I'd be happy to answer any questions. Questions? Yes, looking at trying to sort through this contract and looking at the agenda, and it says there's not a not to exceed amount for this contract. Correct. Can you explain why? So, we don't know how many pistols we're gonna need. Um, so the not to exceed um has been kind of a uh complicator uh of late that if we think we're gonna buy a hundred pistols, let's say, uh, and and we put a fifty thousand dollar NTE on there, then we have to come back to the board to ask, can we buy more pistols? Um, but if we say can we have an NTE of a million dollars, the controller makes us obligate that money, and we can't use that for other things. So that so the NTE, and and I might defer to legal counsel for how to answer this question. It's it's become kind of a double-edged sword. Um that if we declare an NTE, that's what this board approves, and then that's what we are obligating out of our current year budget. So we have found that if we don't include the NTE on something like this for a goods or service, it's better for the overall process. I would just add the contract deals with the relationship with the vendor internally. There's controls through the people soft system for the requisition. So the department has to fund it in order to expend the month. And if it uh doesn't fund it, then the one that's spending the month. So if you put a not to exceed amount on a widget, you don't know how many you're gonna order, and just this takes more time to either go back to the board, draft a new agreement.

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