WALLER COUNTY, Texas — The Waller County Commissioners Court on Wednesday approved a slate of routine payments and grant actions, ratified a contract extension for a CDBG infrastructure project, authorized two state homeland security grant applications and voted to consolidate the county maintenance department under the facilities director. The court also accepted a donated trailer generator from CenterPoint to use for emergency response.

The decisions came during a meeting that ran about 78 minutes and included a construction update on the county courthouse and a correction to a pay application for the design‑build courthouse project. The court moved several administrative items by voice vote and recessed into executive session to discuss real estate, procurement and personnel matters before returning to approve a personnel consolidation and to authorize an offer letter for a candidate discussed in executive session.

County staff said the actions are intended to keep ongoing projects on schedule and add flexibility for emergency response and grant administration. Brooke (county grant manager) told the court the sheriff’s office will submit two applications under the State Homeland Security Program to enhance the county’s emergency operations center and to buy protective equipment to respond to weapons‑of‑mass‑destruction threats.

The court approved payment of $91,360.98 to LJA Engineering Inc. (agenda item 18) for professional services rendered Sept. 28–Nov. 1, 2024, and approved a no‑cost billboard agreement with Clear Channel Communications to run hurricane awareness messages and public service announcements (item 24). The court ratified a CDBG contract amendment extending a grant for the Dema Road infrastructure project to April 30, 2025, to allow closeout and to shift remaining grant funds from acquisition to construction (item 21 as amended).

Soudalco Inc. — the county’s courthouse design‑build contractor — had a revised pay application on the agenda (item 27). County project staff explained a numeric entry error in last month’s pay application resulted in an overpayment of roughly $56,151; the current payment was adjusted to correct that error. Danny (project representative) gave a progress report on the courthouse: stonework remains on the critical path, the cupola and stained‑glass ceiling are under construction, the generator has been delivered to the site and interior framing and ductwork are underway. Danny told the court the county is targeting one of the first two weeks of November for a grand‑opening ceremony.

CenterPoint Energy and the CenterPoint Foundation presented a donated trailer generator the company provided for county emergency operations. Alicia Dixon of the CenterPoint Foundation said the foundation’s program is donating 21 backup generators to locations across the Greater Houston area and that Waller County OEM will use the unit for charging, cooling, and food and water distribution during outages. Lynn Harkle, a CenterPoint senior executive, said the trailer generator is intended to be “versatile and usable” wherever the county needs it. County leadership thanked CenterPoint for the donation; the court paused to take a group photo with the generator.

The court also approved several administrative orders and routine approvals: setting the IRS business mileage rate at $0.70 per mile for 2025; adopting a court order setting juror pay and providing for food and lodging in certain cases; raising the federal micropurchase threshold under 2 CFR 200 to $50,000 for fiscal 2025; and approving a court order setting travel allowances.

Votes at a glance (selected agenda items and outcomes):
- Item 1 — Approval of the meeting agenda: carried (voice vote).
- Item 17 — Proclamation designating Jan. 9, 2025, as National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in Waller County: carried (proclamation read on the record).
- Item 18 — Approve payment of $91,360.98 to LJA Engineering Inc. (invoice 202‑439‑287): carried.
- Item 19 — Spread upon the minutes allocation of 1,622.3 cubic yards of wrap material valued at $32,446 from the Texas Department of Transportation for 2025: carried.
- Item 20 — Authorize county grant manager to submit two State Homeland Security Program grant applications for FY26 (sheriff’s office): carried.
- Item 21 (amended) — Ratify contract amendment for CDBG contract 20‑065‑062‑C180 (Dema Road) to extend the contract to April 30, 2025, and shift remaining funds from acquisition to construction: carried as amended.
- Item 22 — Approve changes to the county’s grant management maintenance plan to note recurring late vendor invoices under a district attorney grant program review finding: carried.
- Item 23 — Correct supplemental pay on the pretrial diversion fund effective Jan. 1, 2025 (no county funds impacted): carried.
- Item 24 — Approve no‑cost agreement with Clear Channel Communications for hurricane awareness billboards and PSAs: carried.
- Item 25 — Transfer $25,000 from Commissioner Precinct 4 part‑time line to Fire Marshal salary line to house a permit coordinator as a shared position: carried.
- Item 27 — Approve corrected payment of $4,050,094.69 to Soudalco Inc. (pay application 26) to correct a prior numeric entry error and reallocate $33,026.91 and $4,017,067.78 across line items: carried (project update provided).
- Item 28 — Approve payment of $189,890.61 to Soudalco Inc. for Justice Center modular design fees (invoice 10): carried.
- Item 30 — Approve IRS standard mileage rate of $0.70 per mile for business travel in 2025: carried.
- Item 31 — Court order setting allowances for travel outside the county in 2025 (per diem and rates): carried.
- Item 32 — Court order setting juror pay and providing food/lodging when required: carried.
- Item 36 — Approve raising the micropurchase threshold under 2 CFR 200 to $50,000 for FY2025: carried.
- Item 29 (post‑executive session) — Consolidate the maintenance department into the facilities department; place maintenance supervisor under facilities director and update personnel policy accordingly: carried.
- Item 38 (post‑executive session) — Authorize offer letter to candidate discussed in executive session at the salary amount discussed in executive session: carried.

Discussion and direction: commissioners and staff emphasized the importance of tight scopes in upcoming engineering contracts, careful invoice and grant tracking to avoid future state findings, and balancing schedule and cost when negotiating design schedules. For the courthouse project, staff warned that exterior stonework is on the critical path and that cold weather can pause mortar and stone installation; staff also described adding a walled cupola, a catwalk for access, and a small HVAC unit above the stained‑glass ceiling to control temperature.

What’s next: staff will return with the finalized engineering boilerplate contracts and defined scopes for upcoming design contracts, a follow‑up courthouse progress report and a proposed salary order amendment if the court elects to advertise a permit‑coordinator position at a higher starting rate. The grand‑opening timeline for the courthouse remains targeted for one of the first two weeks of November 2025.

Quotes (selected):
"Through this donation, Waller County OEM will be able to serve residents during and in the aftermath of outage events," Alicia Dixon said, describing the CenterPoint Foundation program. "We just really, really appreciate and are excited for this collaboration."

"Resiliency is of utmost important, and so having a portable, trailer generator that we can move about as needed throughout the county is gonna be invaluable to us," the County Judge said when accepting the donation.

The court convened, recessed into executive session for advice from counsel and negotiations, then returned to the public meeting to take the votes summarized above and adjourned the meeting.