The Rockwall County Commissioner’s Court on Jan. 28 authorized construction to begin on the Third Floor courtroom infill, approved change orders to the county annex project and cleared several related contracts, budget transfers and procurement actions.

The court's actions included issuing a formal notice to proceed for Hill & Wilkinson Construction on the Third Floor infill, approving a revised Exhibit B to HDR’s contract for the Third Floor project, appointing a county agent limited to unscheduled Third Floor expenses, and approving four change orders for the American Rescue Plan Act-funded county annex project.

Why it matters: the votes move forward two major county building efforts — the Third Floor courtroom infill and the county annex project — that together involve design amendments, contingency management and more than $3 million in intra‑fund reallocations from ARPA dollars. The court also moved to solicit a contractor for a High Point Ranch Road repair project and set public-review steps for the county strategic plan draft.

Court moves on Third Floor construction and consultant contract changes

The court voted unanimously to issue a notice to proceed for Hill & Wilkinson Construction to begin the Third Floor infill construction. Commissioner Stacy moved the construction motion and Commissioner Galana seconded; the motion passed unanimously.

The court also approved a revised Exhibit B to HDR’s contract for the Third Floor infill project to rebalance line items after HDR’s internal phase accounting. The revision was described to leave the contract’s not-to-exceed total unchanged; the court approved the revision 5–0.

Separately, the court appointed Commissioner Galana as a county agent under Section 262.001 of the Texas Local Government Code, limited to unscheduled expenses related to the Third Floor infill project up to $25,000. That appointment passed unanimously.

Annex project: under budget so far; four change orders approved

Niko Parks of Broadus and Associates, the county’s construction manager on the annex project, told the court the annex is about 50% complete and “we are currently performing under budget.” Parks reported roughly $1,260,000 in projected remaining contingency under conservative assumptions and said furniture, IT and other owner allowances are included in that figure.

After the update the court approved change orders 14 through 17 to Hill & Wilkinson’s annex agreement. Commissioner Stacy moved approval of the four change orders; Commissioner Maklick seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

High Point Ranch Road RFP approved

The court authorized the auditor’s office to advertise a request for proposals to repair and improve High Point Ranch Road (Eagle Pass) in Precinct 3. Commissioner Leckte moved approval and Commissioner Maklick seconded. Road and Bridge staff confirmed $200,000 is budgeted from the Road and Bridge fund and the county expects bids near $188,000. The motion passed 5–0.

Strategic-plan timeline, public comment and implementation support

Commissioner Dana Maklick reviewed the county’s draft strategic plan process and timeline prepared with consultant Baker Tilly. The court was told a second draft would arrive shortly, a public presentation and comment period will begin in March, and the court plans a public hearing on March 25 with final action sought in April. Commissioners discussed holding a post-presentation workshop if substantial public input requires closer work before adoption; the court signaled support for additional implementation-management support during the plan’s deploy phase, including use of tracking software (InVisio) that the county has already acquired.

Other contract, budget and administrative actions

- The court approved a two‑year contract with the Texas Workforce Commission to provide online wage/data access for law-enforcement use at $1,500 per year (total $3,000 over two years). The motion passed 5–0.
- The court approved proclamations and resolutions A–H as a group (5–0). No substantive exceptions were raised during discussion.
- The court approved consent-agenda items including routine fee schedules and departmental items.
- The court approved non-emergency budget transfers reallocating $22,500 within the SCAAP grant fund for SCAAP bonuses, and a $3,390,000 reallocation within the ARPA bond budget that moves funds to third-floor and sheriff‑remodel construction and consulting lines. Both transfers passed 5–0.
- The court approved paid claims of $258,097.25, unpaid claims of $10,397,641.68 (debt service payments), and the payroll report for the pay period ending Jan. 2025 totaling $1,155,309.60; each vote passed unanimously.

Executive-session directions

After an executive session, the court approved two personnel/procurement actions: (1) authorization for Commissioner Lauren Lichty and Commissioner Dana Maklick, with HR, to draft and advertise a civil‑engineer job description to be paid from the engineering services budget line; and (2) authorization to file an appeal in an election-related lawsuit and to retain attorney Annie Taylor for that appeal. Both motions passed 5–0.

Meeting schedule and next steps

The court voted unanimously to reschedule its regular February meeting to mid‑February to allow commissioners to attend Rockwall County Days in Austin. The court instructed staff to post the revised meeting date and to prioritize essential county business in the rescheduled meeting.

Votes at a glance

- Cars for CASA parking-lot use (May 17–18, 2025): approved unanimously. Organizer said last year’s show drew more than 400 cars and raised about $89,000.
- Notice to proceed, Hill & Wilkinson (Third Floor infill): approved unanimously.
- Appointment of county agent per Local Government Code §262.001 (Commissioner Galana; unscheduled Third Floor expenses up to $25,000): approved unanimously.
- Revised Exhibit B, HDR Third Floor contract: approved 5–0.
- High Point Ranch Road RFP and advertising authorization: approved 5–0 (Road & Bridge Fund; $200,000 budgeted).
- Annex project change orders (Hill & Wilkinson) Nos. 14–17: approved unanimously.
- ARPA internal budget reallocation totaling $3,390,000: approved unanimously.
- SCAAP transfer $22,500: approved unanimously.
- Two‑year Texas Workforce Commission contract ($1,500/yr): approved 5–0.
- Paid claims $258,097.25; unpaid claims $10,397,641.68; payroll $1,155,309.60: all approved 5–0.
- Post-executive-session personnel and legal actions (civil-engineer recruitment; authorize appeal and retain Annie Taylor): both approved 5–0.

What to watch next

The court will receive the next draft of the strategic plan and has scheduled a public presentation and comment period in March with a March 25 public hearing. The county’s annex project will return with additional pending PCOs and budget details on a subsequent court agenda; county staff indicated the annex remains roughly half complete and “conservative” contingency projections remain available. The High Point Ranch Road RFP will be advertised and brought back for contract award after bids are evaluated.

Sources and attribution

Quotes and attributions are drawn from remarks on the official Jan. 28 Commissioner’s Court transcript and on‑record presentations. Direct quotes in this report come from Doug Bowerman, co‑chair of Cars for CASA, and Niko Parks, project manager, Broadus and Associates.