Smith County Commissioner's Court on Dec. 31 approved a package of actions that included ARPA-funded contract awards, an interagency memorandum of understanding for IT data-center improvements, an appointment and a personnel hire.

Contract award: Ms. Latch told the court the county received five responsive bids for bid number 06-25 (facility service center improvements) and recommended awarding the project to Watson Construction Ltd. with alternates 1, 2 and 4 selected. The lowest responsible bid with the selected alternates totaled $2,689,900. Mr. Nichols (project representative) described the award as providing equipment storage, covered renovation and concrete paving; commissioners said the concrete surface will better handle heavy equipment traffic. The court approved a motion to award the contract and authorized the County Judge to sign necessary documents.

ARPA IT data center MOU: The court considered an interagency MOU to permit the expenditure of remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds on IT data-center purchases. Thomas Fabry objected in public comment, arguing the MOU's broad language "presents a moral hazard" and could expose the county to federal audit or legal risk if the scope is read to promise pandemic-related data collection or telemedicine systems beyond what is intended. Staff and IT responded that the MOU is consistent with prior ARPA language used by the county and GrantWorks (the county's grant consultant). Ms. Latch and Mr. Bell said the IT project was originally approved at $2.5 million; $401,030 remained to be spent on hardware and software (storage, routers and switches) and the MOU would allow the county time to complete required purchasing steps before the year-end federal deadline. The court approved the MOU; commissioners emphasized that project-specific purchases would follow procurement rules.

Personnel and appointments: The court approved routine annual action to bond Wayne Allen as Smith County Constable Precinct 2. The court appointed Sean Scott as a reserve deputy for Precinct 2 (presented as a routine formality noting prior interim service). The court also approved a request from the jail/training division to hire a civilian detention officer for the training department and to place that hire at a higher pay step based on teaching experience; the pay differential mentioned in the discussion was $6,787. HR and jail leadership clarified that the hire would receive a temporary jailer license and must complete jail-school certification within state timelines; commissioners discussed payroll grade placement and an exemption process for bringing a non-certified civilian in at an elevated pay step.

Other routine approvals: The court accepted the November 2024 minutes and recordings, authorized the County Judge to sign the final plat for the Munoz Addition (Precinct 2) after staff recommended approval, received notices of fiber and utility installations by Vexus Fiber LLC on multiple county roads, and ratified bills, payroll and budget transfers including a $3,429 transfer within Precinct 4 constable vehicle accounts to cover equipment upfits and an ARPA-related transfer tied to the facility service center improvement.

Why it matters: The MOU and contract awards put remaining ARPA funds into county facilities and IT infrastructure work the county says is needed to modernize operations and maintain emergency-response capabilities. Public concern focused on ensuring federal ARPA rules are met and that the county does not over-promise project scope in federal paperwork.

What was said: "I have some serious concerns about the way it's been represented...the MOU is in fact a binding contract," Thomas Fabry said, urging caution. IT staff said they needed time to complete procurement because some vendor DIR contracts had lapsed, preventing purchases earlier in the year. Ms. Latch summarized that the county is "not increasing the dollar amount of the entire project that was previously approved; we're only asking to spend the rest of the $2.5 million project."