Commissioners table request to extend professional services for courthouse project after criticism

Aransas County commissioners on July 28 tabled a proposed amendment to a contract for additional professional services relating to the county courthouse project after at least one commissioner sharply criticized project progress and questioned the value of more fees. Consultant Mike Monreal told the court the amendment is written to allow hourly billing “only as needed” and estimated work for him and an associate not to exceed $53,000; he said unused hours would not be billed. The consultant said the amendment covers work after the original contract expired and would pay on agreed hourly rates for any work performed. Several commissioners responded with pointed criticism of the project’s duration and past performance. One commissioner said they did not feel the county had received the quality of QA/QC (quality assurance/quality control) services reflected in line items such as $140,000 for QA/QC and $300,000 for on-site inspections in the original scope. That commissioner said the project had been ongoing “two and a half years now” without completion and opposed paying additional fees at this time. After discussion, a motion to table the amendment was made and adopted; the court voted to table the item and agreed to revisit it when the full complement of commissioners could be present and after further review. The transcript records no change to contractor selection or new payments at the July 28 session; the matter will return to a future meeting with a fuller briefing requested by commissioners.