Freestone County commissioners voted to authorize procurement to pre-position administrative and engineering services to pursue federal and state disaster-recovery grants.

A representative of GrantWorks told the court the county is currently eligible under a disaster declaration (referenced in the meeting as "d r 55 52") and that pre-authorizing a broad procurement would allow the county to have an administrator and an engineer ready to apply for funds from FEMA, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Water Development Board and other sources. The representative said the firm would work on a percentage-fee basis and that the arrangement would be for a five-year period with no retainer.

"The county is eligible right now under d r 55 52, for funding," the GrantWorks representative said, explaining why the county should pre-position consultants. The representative added that GrantWorks would bring the county opportunities as programs open and ask whether the county wanted to apply for a particular funding opportunity.

Commissioners asked about cost and retainer terms; the representative repeated that the service would be paid as a percentage of awards and that there would be no retainer fee. After discussion, a motion to proceed with authorizing requests for proposals and qualifications was made and carried.

The action does not obligate the county to accept any particular grant; it authorizes competitive procurement so the county can move quickly if eligible funding becomes available. Commissioners said they expect staff to present opportunities as they arise so the court can decide on individual applications.

Provenance: First discussion of this procurement begins at 00:23:36 (transcript excerpt: "So what this will do, Rob with GrantWorks. Thank you. Is a broad procurement. There is the county is eligible right now under d r 55 52, for funding.") and the motion-recorded finish appears at 00:27:25 (transcript excerpt: "Okay. I'm sorry. Motion is set. It's all fair. I motion carried.").