Aransas County accepts architects certification of cause in courthouse dispute; court pauses action, orders workshop and legal opinion

Aransas County Commissioners Court on Wednesday voted 4-1 to accept a written certification from the project architect that, in the architects view, there is cause to terminate Teal Constructions contract on the downtown courthouse project, but the court voted to take no immediate termination action and instead to pursue further talks and legal review.

The certifications acceptance formalizes the architects position that work performed to date includes elements the architect found noncompliant with the contract. County Attorney Adela told the court that accepting the letter is legally significant but does not itself require termination or other specific action; the court may still choose from several contract remedies.

The vote followed extended public comment and presentations from project participants and county advisers. Michael Miller, vice president of Teal Construction, told the court the firm had delivered savings in the original bid and then invested in fixes when problems appeared, and warned that terminating the contract now would push the county into costly litigation and leave the partly finished building hard to complete. "We paid taxes here too, and we are willing participants in any efforts to save money without compromising the integrity of the project," Miller said during public comment. Justin McComb, Teals South Texas director, added that it had taken as long as "528 days for the owner and architect to approve a change request." John Murray,…