Gonzales County raises tax note to $12.2 million to fund make-safe work at Randall Bradley Building; approves WJE assessment

Gonzales County Commissioners Court on April at its April meeting approved increasing a tax note from $11.5 million to $12.2 million to cover additional make‑safe and renovation work at the Randall Bradley Building and authorized a $60,000 engineering proposal from WJE to specify necessary repairs.

County staff said the increase is intended to provide funding to “make safe” portions of the historic Randall Bradley Building — not to perform a full historic restoration. John (county staff member) told the court the larger note would “give us an amount to ideally take care of the make safe of the Randall Bradley Building” and to include the annex in the scope. He said the county is not pursuing full restoration now but wants to address cracking stone and falling elements that present public‑safety risks.

The court also approved a $60,000 proposal from WJE, which county staff described as an engineering firm that will perform in‑field testing, document the building’s condition, and prepare specifications that the county can use to solicit construction bids. John said the WJE work is intended to identify and quantify the repairs so contractors can be invited to bid on the scope.

Court discussion covered budget and procurement questions. Commissioners asked what would happen if project costs exceed the note; a commissioner asked, “What if we run over budget?” County staff responded that once bonds are sold the county has the fixed amount to spend on the specified projects and that unused funds would remain available only for the purposes stated in the bond. Staff also said professional services such as WJE are procured by qualifications and are not subject to the same sealed‑bid requirements used for construction contracts; given the urgency staff characterized the WJE engagement as an emergency‑type professional service.

Staff provided an update on demolition and renovation bidding for the same project. Demolition bids are coming in under the county’s demolition estimate: staff reported a low recommendation in the vicinity of $577,000 against a $625,000 demolition allowance. Renovation bids also came in under the county’s renovation allocation; staff said two of the low renovation bids were close to one another and that alternates for roof replacement had been submitted. The renovation budget the court has allocated is $7,000,000; staff said several bids were around $5 million and that adding the roof alternate brought the total closer to budget but still under the allocated amount. Staff estimated roof replacement at about $500,000.

Staff outlined a preliminary timeline: once demolition mobilizes, the demolition phase is expected to take about 2½ months; materials ordering and sequencing for renovation would follow. Staff noted logistics planning to protect adjacent county operations, including the sheriff’s department and the jail, and said vendor mobilization and temporary shoring sequences were part of the construction plan.

What’s next: the court authorized the tax‑note increase and the WJE proposal; staff will finalize the engineering assessment and, once specifications are complete, advertise and solicit construction bids and return to the court with contractor recommendations and contract approvals.