County awards Rancho Alegre drainage contract to RXDX after engineers flag low bid

The Jim Wells County Commissioners Court voted to accept International Consulting Engineers’ recommendation and award the CDBG MIT Rancho Alegre drainage project to RXDX LLC at $5,282,995 after the lowest bidder (Blue Dot) submitted an amount that engineers said was below realistic cost expectations.

ICE presented seven bids and told the court its estimate for the work was roughly $5.5–$6 million. ICE staff said Blue Dot’s low bid raised concerns—particularly in demolition and excavation line items—and that prior projects cited by the low bidder were smaller in scope than this contract. Grant Works (the GLO grant administrator) told the court that the Texas General Land Office requires documentation that the county performed due diligence when electing not to accept the lowest bid.

Lucy Cook Hilddrth of Grant Works said the county must document its investigation of the low bidder’s qualifications and why the second‑low bid offers better value. County counsel and ICE staff confirmed references and vendor experience checks were conducted for the low and next‑lowest bidders; engineers recommended RXDX based on experience and realistic pricing.

The court approved the recommendation and directed staff to include the engineer’s evaluation and reference checks in the grant file for GLO review.