Commissioners authorize assessment and scope development for Liberty County Jail repairs

The Liberty County Commissioners Court voted to seek a reputable company to perform a conditional assessment and prepare a scope of work for repairs at the Liberty County Jail.

County Attorney Matthew Poston introduced the agenda item and Chief Knox (jail official) was present for the discussion. Commissioners and the sheriff described extensive repair needs — plumbing, security cameras, door locks, HVAC, lights and kitchen equipment — and discussed whether to solicit multiple proposals or hire a single firm to develop a detailed scope and timeline.

Commissioners and staff agreed the county needs a clear, contractor‑ready scope before pursuing competitive bids. Several speakers urged getting one firm to produce the scope and timeline that would be used to prepare requests for proposals to perform the work. Chief Knox and other jail representatives noted prior site visits and preliminary estimates; one estimate referenced door locks at about $3,000 each and a total rough project cost discussion that included figures “between 4 and 5,000,000” (as stated in the record), though no final project bid or total estimate was adopted.

The court passed a motion to seek a company to perform the conditional assessment and prepare a scope of work to be used for later requests for proposals. The court also discussed procurement thresholds: if the eventual contract exceeds $50,000 the county will follow the required competitive procedures or use a discretionary exemption as allowed by Texas Local Government Code. The court did not award any repair contracts at the meeting.

Commissioners directed staff to pursue proposals for the assessment, identify a point person to coordinate the work, and return with a defined scope, timeline and cost estimates that will inform subsequent procurement steps.