Kaufman County Commissioners Court on Oct. 30 approved a string of routine and project-related items, including authorization to negotiate with HDR for engineering on the FM 741 bridge at U.S. 175, a month-to-month extension of solid-waste services while the county completes a new RFP, and a 12-month renewal of the county jail health services contract.

The court voted unanimously on the package of items after brief presentations by county staff. The most significant item was the court’s approval to begin contract negotiations with HDR for plans, specifications and environmental work for the FM 741 bridge project; if negotiations with HDR do not produce an acceptable contract, the court instructed staff to open talks with the second-ranked firm.

Brenda Calabay, an ITS/transportation staff member who represented the county selection committee, said the RFQ produced 13 respondents and that a selection committee with two county members and two TxDOT representatives placed HDR first and Bridal Farmer second. "The recommendations for the best qualified firm is HDR," Calabay said, adding the two top firms were "only 3 points apart in score." She said the engineering phase is expected to take "about 12 to 18 months," after which the engineering deliverables will be donated to TxDOT for funding and construction decisions. Calabay told the court that environmental review will determine whether TxDOT replaces the existing bridge with a new structure or pursues a parallel crossing.

Other contract approvals and routine actions

- Solid-waste services: County staff asked the court to ratify continuation of the current solid-waste disposal arrangement with Blackjack on a month-to-month basis under the existing contract terms, effective Oct. 1, 2025, while the county completes a new RFP and award process. Lorena (county staff) said the buyer Best Trash has purchased controlling rights to Blackjack and "will honor the month to month agreement." The court approved the month-to-month continuation by voice vote.

- Jail inmate health services: County staff presented a contract renewal with TurnKey for inmate health services, exercising a contractual second renewal that includes a 2% increase and raises the monthly cost to $96,008.42. The court approved the additional 12-month renewal. The sheriff (unnamed) indicated no objection.

- Fiber-optic installation for NextEra solar farm: The court approved installation of buried fiber conduit on Canyon Road 149 to serve the NextEra solar facility in Precinct 1. Jeremy (county staff) told the court the conduit will be "buried at least 10 feet" and should have "minimum impacts to the county infrastructure," and that the fiber is needed to "power the solar farm." The motion passed.

- Replat, road dedications and abandonments: The court approved a replat of Lots 28 and 30 of Royal Estates into two tracts of about 6.6 to 13 acres (presentation by Fabbie, planning staff). The court also accepted dedication of Mann Road (Meraki Parkway) and approved adding the road to the Precinct 2 official road map; it separately approved abandonment of older sections of Mann Road. Commissioner Phillips noted the county effectively already maintained portions of the road and mentioned an avian-nesting-related realignment during construction.

- Employee appreciation venue: The court approved a contract with Monarch Event Center in Terrell as the venue for the county’s employee appreciation dinner on Dec. 5. County staff said Monarch’s occupancy limit is 600 and last year’s attendance was about 400 employees, and that the facility offered sufficient capacity and cost advantages over prior venues.

- Animal shelter services: The court approved a contract renewal with the Humane Society of Cedar Creek to provide overflow shelter services; in discussion the sheriff (unnamed) and staff said the revised contract reduces the per-unit amount from $20 to $15 and helps the county manage overflow of stray animals.

- Appointments and finance items: The court reappointed Danny Kirby and Bruce Bynum to the Kaufman Central Appraisal District board, approved financing for a Caterpillar paver for Precinct 1 through Welch State Bank, and approved budget transfers and claims. The auditor reported accounts-payable invoices of $721,259.17, juror checks of $1,458 and a payroll of $2,098,366.02, for a requested payout total of $2,821,083.19; the court approved payment.

Why this matters

Several of the approvals move longer-term infrastructure and service projects forward: the HDR negotiation starts the engineering and environmental work needed for the FM 741 bridge, which the county will hand to TxDOT for funding and construction decisions; the fiber work supports the NextEra solar development; and the month-to-month solid-waste continuation preserves service while the county rebids collection and disposal. Routine approvals such as the jail health contract renewal and budget transfers maintain continuity of operations.

The court voted on each item by voice and closed the meeting with the customary adjournment. Staff indicated some items — notably the FM 741 engineering negotiations and the county’s solid-waste RFP — will return to the court for future updates or final contract awards.