The City of Bowie opened a public hearing and approved a resolution to request a contract amendment to its Texas Community Development Block Grant contract CDM23-0142 so a 6‑inch waterline can be added to the Smythe Street reconstruction project.

During the hearing, a city staff member explained, “It's, the Smythe Street reconstruction. We're gonna add a 6 inch water line to it. And yeah. The bids came in real very well.” The council was told bids came in under engineer estimates, which created room in the contract to add the waterline.

The project letter from the city’s planning consultant states the waterline estimate is about $69,000 and cannot exceed the available change‑order cap of $81,009.65. The council voted to adopt the resolution authorizing submission of the contract amendment request to the Texas Department of Agriculture and then approved change order number 1 for the Texas Community Development Block Grant CDM23-012 (to add the waterline) contingent on TDA approval of the amendment.

Councillors moved and seconded the measures and the council recorded affirmative votes for the resolution and the change order. Public comment at the hearing was nil, and the hearing was closed after staff invited questions from the small audience.

Staff said the department must wait for Texas Department of Agriculture approval before construction will include the new line; the city’s consultant and contractor provided the cost estimate and supported including the waterline given the lower-than-expected bids.