Washington County commissioners approve bank transition, construction contracts and routine permits

The Washington County Commissioners Court on Aug. 26 approved a series of routine and project-related items, including accepting Cadence Bank (the successor to Bank of Brenham) as the county depository, awarding a construction contract for the new ATS building to Chapel Hill Construction, authorizing a notice to proceed through Plan North LLC, and approving several permits, a subdivision variance and the county's weekly accounts payable. The court also approved a state-mandated increase in statutory judges' bond amounts.

The approvals came during a regularly scheduled meeting that included department monthly reports and project updates. Commissioners moved quickly through several items after staff said contract and insurance issues had been addressed.

Votes at a glance: The court voted on the following items during the meeting.

- Washington County depository contract (Bank of Brenham → Cadence Bank): County officials said Cadence acquired Bank of Brenham and county counsel worked with Cadence’s legal team to preserve the county’s existing contract terms, including insurance arrangements. The court approved a motion to allow the county judge to sign the depository contract and to grant the county treasurer authority to sign related documents. The county judge recused from part of the discussion.

- 2025 Washington County Fair Trail Ride right-of-way permit: Approved; staff said the route is the same as prior years and runs in daylight hours.

- Subdivision variance: Approved a land division of a 3.97-acre parent tract fronting Red Tip Lane into two lots (1.69 and 2.28 acres); staff reported frontage and area requirements were met and recommended approval.

- Authorization to begin negotiations for Courthouse Phase 2 exterior restoration: The court authorized the county judge to appoint a court member to open negotiations with the highest-ranked offer, based on the evaluation committee’s rankings (the highest-ranked firm was identified on the committee’s document as Phoenix).

- Construction contract for Washington County ATS Building: The court approved awarding the contract to Chapel Hill Construction and authorized the county judge to sign. Court members were told Chapel Hill was both the highest-ranked and the lowest bidder; staff reported insurance certificates and contract terms were finalized.

- Authorization for Plan North LLC to execute notice to proceed for the ATS building construction project with Chapel Hill Construction: Approved.

- Sheriff’s office monthly report for July 2025: Approved. The sheriff’s report highlighted a jump to 50 crashes during July and noted increases in citations, warnings and overall incident responses; the court accepted the report.

- Approval of a modified bond requirement for statutory county court judges and county courts that preside over guardianship and probate proceedings: Approved. The court approved raising the bond requirement from $100,000 to $500,000 to comply with the cited changes in state law (see authorities below).

- Accounts payable: Approved routine disbursements totaling $286,205.32; the packet noted the largest single item was a bond payment for Pecan Glen.

Other routine monthly reports (county clerk, district clerk, tax assessor-collector, treasurer, constable, veterans) were presented and accepted during the meeting.

Quotes from the meeting included staff confirmation that contract and insurance matters had been resolved for the Cadence Bank transition and that Chapel Hill Construction expects to begin ATS work once required insurance and paperwork are in place.

The court adjourned after completing the agenda.