Aransas County approves GrantWorks contract for HUD CDBG disaster‑recovery funds and starts project hires; $499,400 administration fee noted

Aransas County Commissioners approved a contract with GrantWorks Inc. for grant administration services tied to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant disaster‑recovery funds, contract number 24‑065‑128‑E986 administered by the Texas General Land Office.

The court approved the contract authorization and a hiring fee for GrantWorks of $499,400; court members noted that fee is part of grant‑reimbursable administration costs commonly charged for large CDBG awards. The court also adopted required startup documents for the grant program, including signatory resolutions, civil‑rights and citizen participation policies, and other required plans that the grant administrator provided.

Why it matters: The same grant package provides roughly $10 million in mitigation funding; the judge and staff said a portion—“a little over $2 million”—was designated for projects in the town of Fulton. Grant administration and labor‑compliance work, which staff said is substantial, is funded as an eligible reimbursable cost under the grant.

Related actions approved at the meeting: - Hiring resolutions were approved for Hanson Professional Services Inc. to provide engineering services for the Lamar drainage project and the Fulton Street improvement project; both projects are included in the grant program. - The court rescinded an earlier contract award for sheriff’s‑office radio tower equipment and installation previously awarded to Motorola Solutions Inc. after staff determined the required environmental review had not been completed; the court directed rebidding or reissue after the environmental work is finished. - The court authorized solicitation of new requests for proposals for radio equipment and for other grant‑funded procurements once environmental clearance and related reviews are completed.

Court discussion and context: Court members asked about the size of the administration fee; staff confirmed the fee is reimbursable from grant funds and that GrantWorks has a labor‑compliance team that would handle Davis‑Bacon employee interviews and other compliance tasks. Commissioners noted the administration fee is substantial in absolute terms but consistent with prevailing practice for large federally funded grants.

Outcome: All motions on this grant package, including contract authorization with GrantWorks, the adoption of startup policies, the hiring of Hanson Professional Services for named projects, and the rescission of the Motorola award due to a missing environmental study, were approved by the Commissioners Court during the session.

Ending: County staff and GrantWorks will proceed with required environmental and compliance work, and several project‑level procurements and engineering contracts will move forward under the grant timetable; Fulton‑area improvements were identified as primary local recipients of the mitigation funds.