Bee County commissioners approve courthouse assessment contract, authorize police trespass enforcement and set contractor cap

Bee County Commissioners Court on May 27 approved a courthouse conditions‑assessment contract with Komatsu Architecture, authorized the Beeville Police Department to post official no‑trespassing signs on a vacant county parcel and issue criminal trespass warnings there, renewed an independent‑contractor agreement for the judge’s office with an annual cap of $5,000, and approved a public‑funds collateral and pledge agreement with Prosperity Bank. The court also tabled action on appointment of deputy constables for Precinct 1 until its June 9 meeting and received an update on a Hurricane Harvey Community Development Block Grant project.

The decisions were taken during a special meeting at the Bee County Courthouse in Beeville. Commissioners approved the Komatsu Architecture agreement for a courthouse conditions assessment after staff and county counsel pared the original draft; the court’s discussion noted one item in the scope still needed cost clarity but did not delay approval. Commissioner Olegadis said he and legal counsel had narrowed the contract to a shorter, more specific scope; he asked that remaining cost items be clarified before work proceeds.

The court also approved a renewal of an independent contractor agreement for Guadalupe Rodriguez Jr. to provide assistance to the county judge’s office. The County Judge approved adding an annual cap of $5,000 to the contract before the vote.

Commissioner Lenny moved to authorize the Beeville Police Department (BPD) to place official orange no‑trespassing signs and to issue criminal trespass warnings on behalf of Bee County for a vacant county property at the corner of North Jackson Street and West Corpus Christi Street within the Beeville city limits. "The PD has to put up a, official orange no trespassing sign, which then allows them to arrest anyone that is on the, trespassing on the property," Commissioner Lenny said during the discussion. The court approved that authorization.

On personnel matters, the court pulled several consent‑agenda items regarding reorganizations and salary changes in the auditor’s office for discussion. Commissioner Levadas explained the reorganization moved duties from one terminated position into two existing positions and said the changes were funded from within the auditor’s existing budget lines, not by adding new county money. After the explanation commissioners voted to approve the reorganizations and the related salary adjustments.

The court approved a public‑funds collateral and pledge agreement with Prosperity Bank to update the bank’s documentation for funds it holds for county trust accounts. The commissioners previously approved Prosperity as a depository; this action updated the collateral and pledge paperwork.

A GLO (Texas General Land Office) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) project related to Hurricane Harvey remains at an early stage: staff said the grant intake and survey work were in progress and no county action was required at the meeting. The grant amount discussed during the meeting was approximately $4.7 million, and staff said the project was in the initial 60‑day setup phase.

The court voted to table consideration of appointment of deputy constables for Precinct 1 until the regular June 9 meeting so the court could gather more information about limits and justification for deputy and reserve deputy counts.

Votes at a glance - Consent agenda (items not pulled): approved by voice vote; court recorded ‘‘aye’’ and the motion passed. (See transcript segments for the consent approval.) - Auditor reorganization and salary adjustments (consent agenda subitems pulled): motion approved after discussion; commissioners were told the changes are paid from existing auditor budgets. - Independent contractor agreement, Bee County Judge’s Office — Guadalupe Rodriguez Jr.: approved; County Judge added an annual cap of $5,000 before the vote. - BPD criminal trespass authorization for county property (North Jackson & W. Corpus Christi, Beeville): approved; authorizes BPD to post no‑trespassing signage and issue criminal trespass warnings. - Appointment of deputy constables for Precinct 1: tabled to June 9 regular meeting. - Komatsu Architecture courthouse conditions assessment contract: approved; staff and counsel reduced and clarified the contract scope before the vote but requested cost clarity on one remaining item. - Public funds collateral and pledge agreement with Prosperity Bank: approved. - Hurricane Harvey GLO CDBG project update: informational only; no action taken.

The court provided routine updates and recognitions during opening remarks; no executive session was held and the meeting adjourned after the listed actions.