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Commissioners approve heavy-equipment purchases, vehicle buys and award construction contract for juvenile mental health facility
Summary
The court approved multiple cooperative purchases for heavy equipment and vehicles, budget amendments for equipment purchases, and awarded the Hidalgo County Juvenile Mental Health Facility construction contract to EBE Merit Construction.
Hidalgo County Commissioners on Wednesday approved several procurement actions that advance equipment replacement and capital construction projects for county operations.
The court authorized purchases of heavy equipment and vehicles via cooperative contracts, approving purchase orders for dump trucks, excavators, a winch truck and a backhoe loader. The itemized purchases included two 2025 Peterbilt dump trucks for $455,594.02, a winch truck for approximately $309,300 and three Caterpillar excavators (total shown in agenda materials). The board also approved declaring specific assets surplus for trade-in or auction after the transactions are complete.
In separate capital actions the court accepted the evaluation committee’s recommendation and authorized execution of the construction agreement with EBE Merit Construction (EBE Investment DBA EBE Merit Construction) for the Hidalgo County Juvenile Mental Health Facility located at 1711 Northbridge Avenue, Weslaco. Procurement staff said the construction agreement total will not exceed $5,514,840.55 and the contract will proceed upon receipt of required performance bonding.
The court also approved a budget amendment recognizing revenue from fixed-asset sales and appropriating $3,144,170.42 from the general fund balance to cover open purchase orders and commitments as of Dec. 31, 2024, and a separate appropriation of $1,077,031.02 from the general fund balance for heavy equipment purchases. Purchasing staff said some awards were made under cooperative purchasing agreements and were subject to receipt of required bonds and final contract documents.
All procurement motions were carried by voice vote. Commissioners and staff stressed that cooperative purchasing and trade-in processes keep scheduled maintenance and operations functional while reducing procurement lead times. Officials also noted required receipts of bonds and final paperwork before contractors could begin construction or deliveries.
