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Drainage district authorizes easement acquisitions, expands engineering services pool and selects firms for TWDB planning work
Summary
Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 approved resolutions to acquire easements for 2023 bond projects (including authority to condemn), expanded its pre-qualified engineering services pool for five years and authorized negotiation with Half and Associates for TWDB Lower Rio Grande Valley regional flood-planning tasks.
Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 voted May 13, 2025 to authorize acquisition of easements or fee title for multiple 2023 bond projects and to expand its pool of pre-qualified professional engineering firms.
At the meeting the district approved a resolution recognizing the necessity of acquiring easements, rights of way or fee title in connection with construction of 2023 MOD Project 14, West Main Drain 3 Phase 5, and a separate resolution for 2023 bond project Ditch 1.924 A La Via in Edcouch and Elsa. The resolutions authorize acquisition of the described easements, rights of way or fee title “by condemnation, eminent domain, or otherwise,” as stated in the meeting record. Motion and voice vote carried the items.
The district also approved expansion of its professional engineering services pool (RFQ HCDD1-25-001A-05-07ESZ), effective 05/13/2025 for a five-year period. Staff read into the record the firms added to the pool, including Copp Finley & Associates (McAllen), Garver (Harlingen), Garza & Hernandez PLLC (Edinburg), HAF & Associates (McAllen), GDJ Engineering (Edinburg), Shebe Consulting (Harlingen) and WTC (Austin). Commissioner records show abstentions were entered for the record where required.
The district approved an interlocal agreement with the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council for drainage system characterization connected to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) Lower Rio Grande Valley Regional Flood Protection Planning Category 1 project (TWDB Project No. 40038), subject to final legal review. The board also authorized negotiation of a professional engineering services agreement with HAF & Associates from the district’s pre‑approved pool for tasks 2.2 and 2.3 of the TWDB flood-planning work.
Other district approvals included advertisement of an RFQ for an archaeological services pool, purchases of heavy equipment through cooperative contracts and multiple construction payment applications.
Ending: Staff will proceed with right-of-way acquisition steps and project-specific engineering agreements; several actions are subject to final legal review and will require subsequent follow-up to complete acquisitions and task orders.
