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Commissioners approve amendment letting assistant facilities director sign change orders for anti-gang facility after 3–2 vote
Summary
The court approved Amendment No. 2 to Lee Lewis Construction's contract for the new Texas anti-gang facility, delegating authority to the assistant facilities director (in the director's absence) to sign change orders not exceeding $50,000 after a 3–2 vote amid concerns about third-party approval.
Lubbock County Commissioners Court approved Amendment No. 2 to its contract with Lee Lewis Construction for the county's new Texas anti-gang facility on Oct. 27, 2025, adopting a last-minute change that delegates authority to sign certain change orders to the assistant facilities director when no facilities director is in place.
Commissioner Shaw proposed replacing references to the county judge with the facilities director or, in the director's absence, the assistant facilities director — specifically to authorize the assistant director to sign change orders up to $50,000. Shaw explained the rationale as an operational one: the assistant director “has the knowledge” and would step in when a director is absent. The proposal prompted several rounds of procedural and substantive questions about whether the amendment's cover page or its text controlled and whether Lee Lewis had signed off on the change.
Court staff told commissioners that the agreement’s language as circulated referred to the facilities director and that the court may appoint who signs. The presiding officer warned the panel that the change “changes the way we do contracts in Lubbock County,” and asked whether the contractor had approved the amendment; commissioners acknowledged the contractor had not yet signed the amended language and said the contractor would have the chance to accept or reject it when presented.
Following debate, the court voted on the proposed amendment to delegate the signatory role and change-order authority; the amendment passed 3–2. The court later approved Amendment No. 2 as amended, authorizing the county judge to finalize the contract paperwork.
Miss Williams presented the county’s broader payment and approval matters earlier in the meeting, including the payment of claims; she told the court, “I present payment of claims in the amount of $10,036,415.89 and ask for your approval.”
Next steps: County staff will present the amended contract to Lee Lewis Construction for the contractor’s concurrence and return the fully executed documents for the county clerk’s records.
