Simpson County approves engineering agreement for new County Clerk/PVA building; engineering tests will be county-authorized

The Simpson County Fiscal Court approved an engineering agreement for a new County Clerk and Property Valuation Administrator (PVA) building at its Nov. 5 meeting and authorized the County Judge to sign the agreement.

Court discussion clarified that the county will pay for site-specific testing and materials that fall outside the engineering contract—soil testing, footers, concrete and steel testing, and other items that must be verified by a licensed professional engineer. The construction company cannot directly authorize or call the engineer; the court must approve the engineer and give them the authority to perform required testing.

The engineering firm ACES submitted the lowest and best bid and has completed prior projects for the county. County Clerk Austin Johnson later reported construction has begun on the County Clerk & PVA office with a targeted completion date of July 2025.

Why it matters: Approving the engineering agreement moves the capital project forward while clarifying the county’s financial responsibility for site-specific testing and materials; the court’s approval of the engineer is an important procedural control for quality and compliance.

What happens next: The county will authorize the engineer to begin testing and will oversee procurement of necessary site services; the court recorded plans to track testing and site approvals before significant construction activity.