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Council selects PE Dawson to pursue state water-development grant for transmission-line project
Summary
The Nacogdoches City Council unanimously approved selecting PE Dawson to prepare an application to the Texas Water Development Board for water-supply/infrastructure funding, targeting a southwest pump-station-to-West Loop transmission-line replacement estimated at $7–$8 million; applications are due July 30, 2026 and construction must be complete by Feb. 2031.
The Nacogdoches City Council on June 16 approved staff’s recommendation to select PE Dawson to prepare and, if awarded, administer a grant application to the Texas Water Development Board under funding made available by House Bill 500.
City Engineer Case told council the program is a rare opportunity tied to HB 500 and that communities of Nacogdoches’s size "are eligible for up to $21 million," but warned the grant requires projects to be completed by February 2031 and applications are due July 30. Case said staff identified a transmission-line replacement between the Southwest Pump Station and the West Loop — a project on the city’s capital-improvement plan estimated at $7–$8 million — as the most feasible candidate within that timeline.
The selection followed an RFQ process in which three firms submitted proposals. Case said staff scored the submissions independently and "Pate Dawson" (PE Dawson) was identified as the most qualified. If the city’s application is successful, Case said the professional-services contract would be negotiated and returned to council for approval before work beyond application preparation begins.
Councilors asked staff about competition for the funds and the realism of completing design, right-of-way or easement acquisition and construction by the statutory deadline. Case said the timeline is ‘‘fairly constricted’’ but staff had identified projects they believe are achievable.
Council moved to approve the selection; the motion carried unanimously. Next steps are for PE Dawson to prepare the TWWDB application before the July 30 deadline and for staff to return with a contract for council consideration if the grant is awarded.
