Nacogdoches City Council approves ~$300,000 ARPA transfer, awards contract for urgent Old Lin Road drainage repairs

Nacogdoches City Council on Aug. 5 approved a budget amendment to move roughly $300,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)–designated funds into the city’s capital improvement program to cover a priority drainage project and voted to award a contract for Drainage Improvements Project No. 1 to Crockett Construction.

Assistant City Engineer Jason Vicory told the council the drainage portion of the city’s 2023–24 CIP was short after bids were received and that staff needed to transfer funds to cover construction. "The amount of basically $300,000" was identified as the needed transfer to fund the first drainage project, Vicory said. He described the priority work as repairs at a three‑barrel crossing on Old Lin Road that is "completely closed at this moment" and therefore impassable, plus additional work on Perry Road, Humre Road and Burke Street.

Vicory said the city has a second, separate drainage project planned that would address three other town locations, but that the Old Lin Road site had deteriorated faster than the others and required expedited work. He told the council the city expected the contractor to mobilize as soon as the day after contract approval and estimated the construction phase would last about two-and-a-half weeks.

Council members discussed whether to declare a legal emergency or to proceed via a budget amendment and contract award. Vicory and other staff told the council that proceeding with the amendment and contracting was "quicker and more efficient and less costly" than an emergency declaration while still allowing rapid mobilization.

On the meeting record the council approved Item 6A, the budget amendment to reallocate ARPA funds, on a motion and second; the motion "carried," with the transcript not capturing a roll-call tally. The council then approved Item 6B, the contract with Crockett Construction for Drainage Improvements Project No. 1, on a motion and second; the meeting record notes the motion carried but the transcript does not record a detailed vote tally or the mover/second by name.

The contract was described in the agenda as a "not-to-exceed" agreement; the exact contract ceiling was stated during the meeting but the figure was not clearly captured in the transcript and is therefore not specified here. Vicory said staff had spoken with Crockett Construction and that the contractor indicated readiness to mobilize immediately once the contract was executed.

The council closed the special meeting following the votes. The project moves to the implementation phase; staff must execute the contract and coordinate contractor mobilization and traffic or access notices for residents on Old Lin Road and the other affected streets.

Clarifying details from the meeting: the requested funding shift was identified as about $300,000 from the CIP Utility Fund to ARPA allocations to cover drainage work; the Old Lin Road crossing was described as impassable and prioritized for immediate repair; projected construction time for the prioritized location was about 2.5 weeks. The specific not-to-exceed contract amount for Crockett Construction was not specified in the transcript.