Grimes County commissioners approve disaster software, pipeline road permit, road contracts and a letter supporting a $10M water loan

Grimes County Commissioners Court on a Thursday in April 2025 approved a series of operational items including a letter of support for a local water utility's USDA loan application, purchase of a disaster-assessment software package and multiple roadwork contracts and permits.

The court voted to send a letter supporting G & W Water Supply Corporationloan application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and approved purchasing Futurity IT software for disaster assessment and road-maintenance reporting, subject to the county attorneys suggested contract edits and use of IT contingency funds.

Why it matters: The software purchase is intended to speed documentation needed for FEMA and Texas Department of Emergency Management reimbursements; the USDA support letter bolsters a local utility's effort to upgrade aging lines and avoid reaching Texas Commission on Environmental Quality capacity limits as the area grows.

What the court approved and how it voted - Letter of support for G & W Water Supply Corporation's USDA loan application (G&W requested "somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000,000"). Motion to submit a letter once approved by the county attorney carried unanimously (5-0). - Purchase of Futurity IT disaster-assessment software (prorated implementation ~ $3,100; annual renewal ~$2,500). Approved pending inclusion of the county attorney's recommended contract changes and use of IT contingency funds (motion passed; court approved and instructed auditor to move budget lines as needed). - WHC Energy Services special road-use permit extended to July 18 to allow pipeline construction; the company agreed to temporary bridges and traffic controls. Motion passed (court approved). - Award of asphalt and emulsion supply contracts to Cleveland Asphalt Products, Ergon Asphalt Emulsions and Martin Asphalt Company to ensure material availability for chip-seal projects; motion passed. - Temporary additional-duty stipend for a Road & Bridge motor-grader trainer set at 5% of the employees biweekly rate (about $104.54 per pay period) through the end of the fiscal period; motion carried. - Child Welfare Board: new invoice-based payment process for clothing allotments and reimbursements approved; payment amounts and 60-day receipt-return requirement were included. - Brazos Transit District contract approved and county judge authorized as signatory. - Funding agreement template for organizations requesting county funds approved for use in the upcoming budget cycle. - Auction of county surplus items approved. - Appointment of Commissioner David Tullis as liaison to the Grimes County Historical Commission (motion carried 4-0 with one abstention).

Several items were discussed but deferred or handled administratively, including replacing the countys current meeting software (Granicus) until the IT director can attend and a discussion about expanding the countys emergency-preparedness web resources.

Selected reported context and direct excerpts - G & W representative: "we're currently seeking a USDA loan ... somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000,000" (presentation requesting a formal county letter of support). - Emergency Management Coordinator Dionne Bumpas on the software: "This program will also help us automatically fill out the FEMA forms that we need for the grama, so we're not going and making this workbook and then having to go back and fill out more forms." - County Engineer John Stiber on dust control planning: "we can do about 7 miles of dust control".

Ending: Court members repeatedly said the software and the G & W support letter are intended to help the county capture reimbursements and manage growing infrastructure needs; several approvals were conditioned on county attorney review or use of contingency funding so that no new budget appropriation was required at the time of the vote.