County approves Justice Center furniture purchase, allows 50% down for two vendors

San Patricio County Commissioners Court voted July 6 to approve a multi-vendor furniture purchase for the county's new Justice Center and to allow 50% deposits for two manufacturers that require them.

John Hernandez, the county presenter on the Justice Center project, told the court the architect and vendor team provided "a final quote" and that two manufacturers — Alamere and Entegra — were included in the award. He said the combined cost for those two manufacturers was $211,018.90 and that the 50% down requirement would be about $105,005.00. "I recommend to move forward to approve this quote," Hernandez said during the presentation.

A commissioner moved to approve the purchase through the listed vendors and to permit the 50% down payments for the vendors that require them; the motion was seconded and carried. Commissioners asked about delivery timing and were told the manufacturers estimated 10–12 weeks for delivery after the county auditor cuts purchase orders, with about a month needed for installation.

The court and project staff noted the furniture procurement was coordinated through cooperative purchasing contracts and that most courtroom furniture was covered under an existing local contract and already in storage. The purchase was described as part of the Justice Center's final outfitting ahead of an expected late-October to early-November opening window, which remained contingent on other outstanding site work and utility connections.

The court recorded the action and directed staff to proceed with issuing purchase orders to the contracted vendors.