Votes at a glance: Actions approved by Van Zandt County commissioners

The following items were moved, seconded and approved (voice votes recorded) during the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court meeting.

• Tabled: Change Order #5 for critical spare equipment and conditional acceptance of the L3 Harris radio system (item 4) — motion to table carried; item to be rescheduled once vendor is available.

• Elections contracts (item 5) — authorized the elections administrator to enter standard joint contracts with the Van Zandt County Democratic and Republican parties for the 2026 primary elections under Chapter 172 of the Texas Election Code. The elections administrator said ballot printing will be billed at $0.54 per ballot, equipment rental capped at $5 per device, and a 10% administration fee will apply; county pays early-voting costs. Auditor/treasurer accounting to follow.

• Animal Protection League contract (item 6) — changed payment timing from monthly to quarterly to reduce late-payment processing issues; staff cited a standing monthly contract payment of $1,200 (annualized ~$14,400) and variable usage in recent months.

• Courthouse restoration costing (item 7) — authorized the county judge to sign a proposal with Riddle & Goodnight for an updated opinion of probable cost ($10,560 fee) to support a 2026 Texas Historical Commission grant application; scope includes whole-building items and discussion of adding a second stairwell for ADA access.

• Ambulance grant (item 9) — authorized the county judge to submit an HB3000 rural ambulance service grant application; program could provide up to $250,000 toward an additional ambulance box; county will review award terms before accepting.

• Radio tower generator alarms (item 10) — approved proposals from Sabre Industries and Lofton Equipment to hardwire generator alarms at five county radio towers and configure generators; funding from ARPA interest funds.

• Fireworks sales (item 11) — approved sale for Texas Independence Day period (02/25/2026–03/02/2026) with caveat the court can rescind approval depending on burn-ban or fire-marshal guidance.

• Motor-fuels tax resolution (item 12) — adopted a resolution requesting the state legislature reallocate a portion of the state motor fuels tax to county road funds; referral to state legislators noted.

• Southern Software AVL upgrade (item 13) — approved an upgrade to ingest GPS location from the radio system into dispatch consoles; funding from ARPA interest funds. Transcript lists a roughly $1.11M upgrade figure and inconsistent configuration amounts; staff will confirm final contract amounts in follow-up.

• Ricoh USA contract correction (item 15) — approved a revised contract correcting the number of copier renewals (adjust from 18 to 12); overall costs reported to be reduced.

• Consent agenda (item 16) — approved routine consent items and redactions for specific roadwork that falls within city permitting areas.

For most items the transcript records voice votes ("aye"/"opposed"), not roll-call tallies. If a roll-call or numeric vote is needed for audit or public records, staff indicated they will provide the official minutes and invoices in follow-up.