Newton County Commissioners voted to award a construction contract for a GLO CDBG regional community shelter to Construction Managers of Southeast Texas, approving the lowest compliant base bid with concrete paving.

The county’s consultant summarized six general-contractor bids on the contract (GLO contract no. 24-065-03) and recommended CMOS as the lowest responsive bidder for the base scope, which staff said fell near $9,000,001.64 (final tabulations read during the meeting). Commissioners discussed alternates — including asphalt vs. concrete paving, storm shutters, security systems and commercial kitchen equipment — and agreed the county should build the project with concrete for longevity and durability.

The meeting recorded a disagreement about a $297,616 line item for commercial kitchen equipment that the Texas General Land Office (GLO) told the county it would not fund. Staff recommended awarding the contract to secure the base project and then either appeal the GLO letter or remove the kitchen equipment via a later change order if the GLO maintains its position. The consultant cautioned that omitting the kitchen at build time could make later retrofits costly.

Opponents on the court raised concerns about math errors in one bidder’s alternates and whether the recommended award represented the best value to local taxpayers. Staff said the procurement rules for grant-funded public works require awarding to the lowest compliant bidder on the base bid and that the apparent errors in alternate pricing did not change that determination. County legal staff was present to advise on defendability of any deviation from the low-compliant-bid selection.

Commissioner Hobson moved to approve awarding the contract to Construction Managers of Southeast Texas on the base bid with concrete; Commissioner Benson seconded. The court voted in favor and approved the award. The court instructed staff to pursue a GLO reconsideration of the kitchen-equipment funding decision and noted that, should GLO refuse funding, the county could remove that scope via change order or procure equipment separately.

The next steps are final contract execution with the selected bidder and follow-up with the GLO about the kitchen-equipment funding determination. The county and its consultant said they will review change-order strategies and possible local funding options if GLO funding is not restored.