Hill County to seek bids for annex work

Editor: Shannon Cottongame

February 2, 2022

The Hill County Commissioners Court approved seeking bids for work on the new county annex in Huron during a regular meeting held Tuesday, January 25.

The county will seek bids for air conditioning and heating work and spray foam insulation on the building, located at 5800 Farm Road 933.

Electrical and septic work will also begin soon, but those projects will not meet the $50,000 threshold to necessitate a bidding process.

The building will provide space for law enforcement and Precinct 1 officials, including the justice of the peace, constable and commissioner. There is also room to serve other departments if they choose to use the location, such as a county tax office and ESD 1 fire suppression equipment and water storage.

In other action, the court approved the addition of another full-time employee for the county’s elections administration office. The office currently has two employees and a heavy workload that has increased due to state mandates and redistricting. The county will advertise to fill the position.

Commissioners approved the installation of temporary speed bumps on HCR 3110 in a construction area for an energy project. They will be removed when construction is completed.

The court recognized the City of Carl’s Corner’s adoption of and participation in the Hill County Hazard Mitigation Plan. The county updates the plan, which is required to obtain certain grants, every five years.

Carl’s Corner did not previously participate in the plan but is now interested in seeking a grant for water infrastructure improvements and has adopted it.

An amended professional services agreement was approved with Tyler Technologies for services to update court systems to comply with Senate Bill 41, which consolidated civil court costs and filing fees and made changes to some fees.

The fee for Tyler Technologies to implement the changes came to $5,200. County Judge Justin Lewis said that the project is another example of an unfunded mandate from the state that costs taxpayers money at the county level.

The court’s next regular meeting date is Tuesday, February 8.