Mike Ponzi, the county’s emergency management coordinator, told the court the commissioners had selected H2O Partners on Nov. 17 to assist with a multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation action plan. Ponzi said the General Land Office (GLO) changed the grant terms recently and that change “forced us to move much, much faster.” He asked the court to authorize execution of a professional services agreement, noting the county attorney had reviewed the draft and minor amendments had been sent to the consultant.

Commissioner Gillespie moved to approve the contract and Commissioner Riley seconded; the court recorded an initial approval. Later in the discussion the court rescinded that motion and re-voted after a conflict of interest was raised for Commissioner Riley. The court then approved the contract again with one abstention.

Ponzi said the agreement is intended to let the county meet revised grant requirements and complete a hazard mitigation assessment and action plan across multiple jurisdictions. The contract was approved “pending approval by the county attorney’s office,” and Ponzi noted he had already sent proposed minor amendments to the consultant.

The court’s minutes record the approval and the abstention; staff were instructed to finalize the contract documents and proceed with execution by the county judge once the county attorney’s office clears final language.