Willacy County approves Fred Stone Park construction award, adds second restroom at county's expense

Willacy County commissioners voted Feb. 12 to award construction of Fred Stone Park to the lowest responsible bidder and to include an alternate that adds a second restroom, increasing the county’s local match.

Consultant Luis Varela presented the bid tabulation and recommended award to ML Contracting. He told the court the base construction bid is $725,000 and that the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA, administered locally by the GLO) is funding $305,001.65. Adding Alternate 1 — an additional restroom and associated site work — would increase construction costs by $188,000 and raise the county’s local contribution by about $79,199.50. The court discussed whether to limit the project to the base bid (which would fit budgeted local funds from 2022) or to accept the alternate now to avoid higher costs if added later.

Several commissioners favored including the alternate now, arguing future additions would likely cost more and that the county’s GOMESA fund is intended for coastal projects. After discussion the court approved the base bid plus Alternate 1 (referred to in the meeting as option 2) and noted the auditor would return with the precise local-match accounting; the court directed staff to document the increase and indicated GOMESA/local funds would cover the difference up to a not-to-exceed amount of $80,000.

Consultants also presented three smaller change orders (flagpoles, ceiling tile color change, and added galvanized channels for overhead doors) totaling $30,692.10 and requested an additional 10 calendar days to the project schedule; commissioners approved the change orders and the time extension, with the consultant reporting the project remains within available grant funds and county reserves.

The court instructed staff to proceed with contract execution for award to ML Contracting and to return with finalized match accounting for the minutes and the auditor's records.