Hardin County commissioners approve budget amendments, contracts, road acceptances and set public hearing on Sugar Maple Road

The Hardin County Commissioners Court on April 14, 2026 approved a series of routine but substantive administrative and procurement items affecting county operations and services.

Among the approvals, the court accepted minutes from previous meetings, authorized payment of county bills, and approved FY25 and FY26 budget amendments including a $5,000 contingency reallocation to support the Hardin County Historical Museum’s rent, utilities and maintenance. The court also authorized continued participation in the Southeast Texas Alerting Network (Everbridge) with an estimated FY27 subscription listed on the agenda at $55,895.00 (final cost depends on number of participating agencies and population).

Procurement and contract actions included one‑year extensions for emergency/disaster debris monitoring and removal services (Tetra Tech, Inc.; Thompson Consulting Services, LLC; CTC Disaster Response, Inc.; DRC Emergency Services, LLC), approval of Change Order No. 5 with N&T Construction on the Hurricane Safe Room project which includes a credit of $41,404.19 for deleting two sets of stairs, and approval of Change Order No. 8 with Construction Managers of Southeast Texas on jail renovations (agenda lists a $5,191.00 modification for a shower pan and a $3,464.00 plumbing credit). The court also approved renewal of the county’s participation agreement with the Texas Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO) surplus property program.

On land‑use and public‑works matters, the court accepted Rock Creek Ridge Phase 5 roads (Prickly Pine) into the County Road and Bridge Maintenance System, amended the Hardin County Subdivision Manual to add provisions for townhomes, condominiums and zero‑lot‑line developments, and granted precinct commissioners authority to waive the sidewalk definition in certain circumstances.

The court approved an agenda item establishing a FY26 forfeiture budget for the District Attorney Rebecca Walton to purchase an investigator vest and to provide a donation to the Kountze Police Department under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 59.05; the agenda listed $2,525.00 of forfeiture revenue with expenditures of $1,325.00 and $1,200.00 for equipment and miscellaneous items respectively.

Commissioner Chris Kirkendall requested and the court set a public hearing to consider establishing a 30 MPH speed limit on Sugar Maple Road (Precinct 2) for April 28, 2026 at 9:50 a.m. The meeting adjourned after non‑agenda announcements.

Most items were approved by unanimous vote and were presented with motions and seconds as recorded in the court’s agenda and minutes. The agenda included specific dollar amounts for certain items; where agenda text contained damaged or ambiguous characters the amounts above reproduce the figures as listed in the official agenda materials.