Jim Wells County picks GrantWorks, awards engineering contract to ICE for 2026 Colonial Fund grant

The Jim Wells County Commissioner's Court voted Dec. 15 to authorize GrantWorks, Inc. to serve as the county’s administrative project delivery services provider for its 2026 Colonial Fund Construction Grant program application to the Texas Department of Agriculture.

Natalie Gonzales of GrantWorks told commissioners the application deadline is near and urged the court to move quickly: “Because this is due January 8, judge, we'll want to move fast,” she said, and offered to meet with county representatives the same day to begin preparing the application.

The court said an RFP process was completed to identify qualified administrative providers and approved a resolution selecting GrantWorks subject to successful contract negotiations. Commissioners also heard a selection‑committee recommendation for engineering services and approved the committee’s top scorer, ICE (identified in the record as International Consulting Engineers). The court later returned to finalize a separate resolution awarding ICE the contract for engineering, architectural and surveying services for the same Colonial Fund project.

County officials said the award documents will be finalized through negotiated contracts before signatures; the resolutions recorded that any commitments are dependent on successful contract negotiation. The court did not record a roll-call vote listing individual commissioners’ votes; the chair stated motions carried by voice vote.

Next steps: GrantWorks will coordinate with the court and a designated county point of contact to produce the application and pair the county with an application writer; engineering scope, schedule and fees for ICE will be negotiated and documented in a contract prior to execution.