Lavaca County approves multiple road-material and fuel contracts, splits supply among vendors to manage availability

Lavaca County Commissioners Court on Dec. 9 approved a series of procurement awards for road-building materials and related services, splitting purchases among multiple vendors to manage seasonal availability and delivery constraints.

The court opened sealed bids for a replacement/ purchase option on a roller and recorded two sealed proposals; staff said the bids will be reviewed and the award placed on the next regular agenda. Commissioners then moved through a long procurement block that included level-up patch material (premix Type D), HMAC regular D hot mix asphalt, precoated paving rock (PB3, PB4, PE3, PE4), uncoated grade aggregates, limestone, pit-run and screen gravel, and emulsion products (AC5, AC10, MC30, CRS types).

Commissioners repeatedly used a strategy of awarding delivery and plant-pickup prices across multiple vendors to maintain access when single suppliers could not meet county demand. For example, the court accepted multiple bids for level-up premix (bid numbers 1770 and 1762 were among those accepted), and for HMAC hot mix commissioners accepted both Colorado Materials and Brontec bids. On precoated paving rock and uncoated aggregates the court accepted combinations of bids from Quality Hot Mix, Brontex (Brontex/Brontex variants in the record), Colorado Materials and others, with some awards covering delivery prices and other awards covering plant-pickup prices.

Commissioners discussed the operational reasons for split awards: vendors that travel on backhaul or perform deliveries for the state may deprioritize county work during peak seasons, so having multiple approved vendors improves responsiveness. The court also tabled the solar stabilizer/quicklime bid because no offers were received.

The court accepted Martin Asphalt's bid for emulsion products (bid 1778) as the primary award and took a partial backup from Cleveland Asphalt for specific CRS items. For limestone and 3/4" to dust material commissioners accepted several bids and specified whether awards applied to stockpile locations, job-site delivery or plant pickup to preserve flexibility.

On pit-run and screen gravel the court approved bids for stockpile and delivered pricing from two vendors and later approved additional vendor packages for delivery to county roads. Commissioners addressed price differences directly during debate, with one member saying he felt singled out by higher prices from certain vendors; other commissioners explained that gravel type and source vary by location, which can justify price differentials.

For county gasoline and diesel, the court awarded the county-wide fuel contract to Patriot Fuels, citing a uniform markup (0.125) that made its proposal lower across county entities; the motion to award the fuel contract passed by voice vote.

The court also accepted the single bid received for labor and equipment for road construction from HNC Construction (bid 1780), which listed option pricing per square yard for one- and two-shot seal-coat options.

All procurement motions on the record were approved by voice votes with no recorded nay votes. Commissioners said they will review the sealed roller bids and return with a recommendation at the next regular meeting on Dec. 23.