El Paso County officials on Sept. 18 updated the Commissioner's Court on the status of voter-approved bond projects, procurement for a construction-manager-at-risk contract and design and outreach schedules for several county parks and facilities.

County Administrator Betsy Keller told the court the county is preparing a public-facing “financial meter” to track bond funding and said the county is “in the midst of recruiting for the strategic capital management, vacancies.”

The county purchasing agent, Karen Davidson, said the county received seven proposals in response to its RFP for a construction manager at risk (CMAR) for the Office of the Medical Examiner. “We have received 7 solid proposals that will kick off for evaluation,” Davidson said, and legal review of contract exceptions will run in parallel with the evaluation; staff remain on track to award a contract in January.

Assistant County Attorney Eric Rosales said the county used an American Institute of Architects (AIA) contract template for the CMAR scope and made “a lot of thoughtful edits” to protect the county while remaining reasonable to vendors, a change he said should speed negotiations.

Public Works project manager Lidea Arias provided project-by-project updates for parks. For Escarade Park she said the legal contract has been finalized after negotiation with the consultant and that, assuming the contract reaches the October agenda, the county plans community outreach and site analysis from October through December and a separate well bid package in early 2026. “We anticipate to have a well bid package early, 2026,” Arias said. She said the first construction bid package will likely be for the park’s island, to preserve fishing access while other work proceeds.

Arias said the county finalized the contract for San Felipe and expects public meetings in November. For Coyote Park she said Tornado ISD had placed the lease item on its board agenda and the county expects a decision on the 30th; design work will follow if the lease is approved. For Veterans Park the county said it is “continuing to work with the water district on the location of the well” and that discussions focus on access so the park layout is not bisected.

Staff said three parks will share a single consultant and that the county is grouping recurring work — notably restroom/shelter bundles and skate-park elements — to be handled by the same contractor across multiple sites. For some projects the county plans “competitive sealed proposal” procurement rather than standard sealed bidding; Davidson said the county is using that new CSP format for the first time and is seeking preliminary legal and purchasing feedback before final release.

On the County Animal Shelter and the Office of the Medical Examiner design contracts, staff said AIA template agreements were used and that survey and geotechnical work at the medical examiner site is already under way. “We did get the proposals for the CMAR,” staff said; evaluations are in progress and design teams are working on site plans and geotechnical reports.

Court members did not take formal votes on project approvals during the special meeting; staff will return with contract awards and community meeting schedules as projects move from procurement into design and construction.

Ending: Court members thanked staff for the update and asked for continued coordination with commissioner offices on community meetings and scheduling.