Commissioners award two low-water crossing contracts

By Alexandria Randolph

The Highlander

In a meeting of Burnet County Commissioner’s Court on Tuesday, the court awarded a contract for the construction of two low water crossings.

The crossings on County Roads 322 and 330 will be reconstructed by Walenta’s Construction, as recommended by Willis Engineering as a part of the scope of their services to the county.

“After the five inch rain we received recently, it has shown us the need to make these improvements,” said Tony Plumley, president of Willis Engineering.

Plumley said out of 14 potential contractors, Walenta’s Construction, a family owned business out of Leander, was selected.

“They are multi-family developers,” he said. “Everyone gave them great reviews. I feel very confident they do good work.”

Plumley said that of the contractors which submitted bids, Walenta’s Construction was only 50 cents off the county’s estimated cost of the project. 

“That’s why we do the bid tabulation – to see if the contractors can do the math,” he said.

Commissioners voted unanimously to award the contract in the amount of $286,878.

In other action, commissioners approved an expenditure of up to $15,000 for the purchase of a used patrol vehicle.

“We’re again looking into grant funded public nuisance officers to start in October,” said Burnet County Judge James Oakley. “We have not yet budgeted a vehicle for this position.”

Oakley told commissioners it was a possibility the county could purchase a new patrol vehicle for the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office, which would then give one of its used vehicles to the new public nuisance officer.

“They are deciding what vehicle they want to go with,” he said, but in the meantime, county officials were running out of time to bid for a used patrol vehicle currently available.

“There is a very attractive vehicle on a bid site, and the bid ends in four days,” Oakley said.

The 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe with four-wheel drive is already prepared to be outfitted with police equipment, said Commissioner Joe Don Dockery.

The commissioners voted unanimously to permit the purchase of the vehicle at a bid not to exceed $15,000.

“My opinion is, if you can get it for $12,000, great. Otherwise, let’s look at some internal swapping with the sheriff’s department,” Oakley said.

In other discussion, Burnet County Director of Development Services Herb Darling updated commissioners on strong trends of residential growth in the county, especially Precinct 2.

“The golden hammer award goes to Precinct 2,” he said. “There’s a lot of overall development due to the number of people coming (into the county) wanting five to 10 acres.”

Communities like Blackbuck Ridge, Spicewood Trails and 7 Creeks are easily selling plots, Darling reported. 

“We’re not seeing very many manufactured homes,” he added. “There is some development picking up on Park Road 4, and some of those folks are pinched for water out there.”

Commissioners court decided to take no action to instate a burn ban, citing recent rains.

“The only thing about the burn ban is, we are a recreational community. I hate that (the ban) disallows a two-foot campfire with marshmallows on it,” treating them the same as larger, agricultural field burning, Oakley said. “They’re two completely different scenarios that fall under the same rule.”

Darling said in his opinion, “we’re in pretty good shape.”

Dockery added that while some areas of the county showed a Keetch-Byrum Drought index in the lower 400s, “I expect we can wait until June 26.”

The next meeting of Burnet County Commissioners Court will take place on Tuesday, July 26.