Van Zandt County Commissioners Court voted Dec. 31 to approve several operational contracts and administrative actions, including a mobile dental services agreement for the county jail, the appointment of a contracting officer to oversee structural repairs at Cedar Creek dams, and the award of the county's vegetative debris-removal contract to Drewry Construction.

The court's actions also included approving bonds for reelected and newly elected officials, adopting a fraud, waste and abuse policy required by the Office of the Texas Attorney General for certain grants, accepting audited financial statements for Emergency Service District No. 4, approving the county's FY2024 road-and-bridge expenditure report, transferring utilities for a radio project into the county's name with ARPA interest funds to pay bills, and accepting a $3,000 donation for road work in Precinct 3.

Why it matters: the decisions move several projects from planning to execution. The dental contract affects health services available to people housed in the county jail; the contracting-officer appointment enables county sign-off on dam-repair documents; the debris-removal contract addresses post-disaster cleanup capacity; and the road-and-bridge report documents more than $11 million in local road spending for 2024, some reimbursable by FEMA.

Jail dental services
The court approved a health-services agreement with Southern Health Partners for on-site mobile dental services for the county jail at $25,100 every other month. Court discussion framed the contract as a way to provide more regular, nonemergency dental care than deputies transporting inmates to outside offices. The motion passed on a voice vote.

Cedar Creek dam contracting officer
Commissioners appointed Bobby Phillips as contracting officer to sign necessary documents for structural repairs to dams at the Cedar Creek site, with the appointment effective Jan. 1. Court members noted most affected dams are located in Precinct 2. The motion to appoint Phillips passed on a voice vote.

Temporary county auditor training position
The court approved a temporary position for training the incoming county auditor, Catherine Gosda, to allow overlap training through Jan. 24, 2025, if needed. County staff said the temporary slot will not require a budget amendment because Gosda's starting salary is below the budgeted amount for the position. The motion passed on a voice vote.

Fraud, waste and abuse policy
The court adopted a fraud, waste and abuse policy drawn from guidance of the Office of the Texas Attorney General to comply with grant requirements (the agenda cited Texas Government Code section 321.002). Commissioners said the language came from the Attorney General's office and that the policy will be added to the county employee handbook. The motion passed on a voice vote.

Road and bridge annual report
County staff presented the Texas County Lateral Road and Bridge annual expenditure report for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024. The combined expenditures for county road maintenance across four precincts totaled $6,378,338; other road-related expenditures totaled $4,847,241; for a grand total of $11,225,579.56. The report noted an increase of $1,110,945 over 2023 and that approximately $61,700 was received (as reported) during the period; commissioners said much of the increase reflected purchases of road-and-bridge materials and that some costs are expected to be reimbursed through FEMA. The court approved the report.

Radio-project utilities and ARPA interest funds
With the lease on a building used for the county's radio project ending and the building's new owner declining to keep utilities in the city's name, commissioners voted to transfer utilities into Van Zandt County's name and pay them from ARPA interest funds for the short term. The county indicated this will be a smooth transfer so accounts do not have to be disconnected and reconnected. The motion passed on a voice vote.

Donation for road work
The court accepted a $3,000 donation from BGP Metals Group to help cover post-work costs for Van Zandt County Road 3805 in Precinct 3; the funds will be deposited into Precinct 3's road-and-bridge account. The motion passed on a voice vote.

Debris-removal procurement
Commissioners appointed a scoring committee to evaluate proposals for monitoring of debris work, then accepted the committee's recommendation and awarded the county's vegetative debris removal, reduction and disposal contract to Drewry Construction. Commissioners noted Drewry had previously held a contract with TxDOT covering eight counties. The motion to award the contract passed on a voice vote.

Other routine actions
The court approved a corrected consent agenda (approving minutes for Dec. 18, 2024 only), and approved bonds for several reelected and newly elected county officials (the agenda listed specific names). The court also accepted audited financial statements for Emergency Service District No. 4 for the record.

Executive session
After the votes, the court recessed into executive session under Texas Government Code section 551.074 to discuss personnel matters. No public action was taken during the executive session portion noted at adjournment.

Votes at a glance
- Consent agenda (minutes corrected to Dec. 18, 2024): approved (voice vote)
- Bonds for reelected/new officials (list provided on agenda): approved (voice vote)
- Southern Health Partners jail dental agreement ($25,100 every other month): approved (voice vote)
- Appoint Bobby Phillips as contracting officer for Cedar Creek dam repairs: approved (voice vote)
- Temporary auditor training position for incoming auditor Catherine Gosda (through Jan. 24, 2025 if needed): approved (voice vote)
- Adopt fraud, waste and abuse policy (OAG language; cited Texas Government Code section 321.002): approved (voice vote)
- Accept audited financial statements for ESD No. 4 (for record): approved (voice vote)
- Approve Texas County Lateral Road & Bridge expenditures FY2024 (total $11,225,579.56): approved (voice vote)
- Transfer utilities for radio project into county name and pay from ARPA interest funds: approved (voice vote)
- Accept $3,000 donation from BGP Metals Group for Precinct 3 road 3805: approved (voice vote)
- Appoint scoring committee and award debris-removal contract to Drewry Construction: approved (voice vote)

What the court did not resolve publicly
The court went into executive session under Texas Government Code section 551.074 for personnel deliberations; no public actions from that session were recorded in the meeting minutes provided.

(Reporters: all motions and outcomes summarized here reflect the court's recorded actions during the Dec. 31 meeting.)