Ross, the county engineer, presented Waller County’s first quarter 2025 engineering report and highlighted a cluster of operational and planning issues shaping the county’s work this year: competition for aggregate with TxDOT for seal‑coats, implementation of an asset‑management GIS work‑order tracker (Asset Essentials), a slow start with the MGO development software that has disrupted plan review throughput, and a GLO‑funded countywide Master Drainage Plan to identify priority corridors and easements.

Ross told the court the county is competing with TxDOT for aggregate supplies during seal‑coat season and that staff switched to an alternative aggregate that staff believes will be more economical and durable. He said the county is about three weeks ahead of schedule on seal‑coat and rehabilitation work and has rehabilitated Jeff Smith Road and Minky Road under budget.

On technology, Ross described a recent Asset Essentials implementation to log citizen work requests, prioritize repairs and track preventative maintenance across roads, vehicle fleets and vegetation management. John Morrell demonstrated a trial master‑road index application built during a trial period that county staff recommended for purchase; the court subsequently approved a $9,500 one‑time license and an annual maintenance fee beginning in 2026 for the software (agenda item 22). Ross also told the court that MGO software implementation in development services has slowed permit and plan review and that staff expects roughly six months of refinement before productivity improves.

Ross discussed the county’s Master Drainage Plan (a GLO grant project) that will identify corridors, needed easements and shared modeling data with partner agencies including Harris County Flood Control. He also reviewed specific projects: a county‑funded Riley Road at Birch Creek bridge design with an estimated county cost of about $900,000, and an interim five‑year rehabilitation strategy for Morton Road (2855 to Katy city limits) to extend life until bond‑funded capacity projects move forward.

Financial notes: Ross said equipment operation and maintenance spending has exceeded the budgeted amount (over 50 percent expended) and that material escalation has increased project costs, though staff expects to manage within the current fiscal envelope.

Ending: Commissioners asked staff to return supporting material on developer commitments and road‑bond updates and to include development obligations in the county’s public road status pages.