Commissioners rescind LCRA tower bid award in 3-2 vote

The Gonzales County Commissioners Court will start back at square one after voting 3-2 Monday, March 10, to rescind its acceptance of a previously awarded non-competitive bid from the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) to build a new emergency communications tower system for the county.

County Judge Pat Davis, Precinct 1 Commissioner Tony Matias and Precinct 4 Commissioner Collie Boatright voted to not accept the bid, while Precinct 2 Commissioner Donnie Brzozowski and Precinct 3 Commissioner Roy Staton voted to keep the bid in place.

Afterwards, the same voting blocs voted 3-2 to pass on additional agenda items that would allowed the court to consider proposed cost-savings measures by LCRA, since tossing out the bid rendered those items moot. They included:

• The use of pre-owned telecommunications equipment on the tower project (in place of new equipment) with the same warranty;

• Gonzales County and the City of Gonzales operating a combined dispatch center and cost-sharing expenses; and

• Reconsideraton of the maintenance fee beginning in year two, with Gonzales County staying on the current $20/radio/month maintenance fee instead of a proposed flat prepaid annual $111,960 maintenance fee.

The Texas General Land Office awarded the county the $6,071,588.57 mitigation grant to help pay for an overhaul of the county’s communications system in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Of that amount, $554,139.10 was already used to pay for a new 300-foot guyed tower located in Smiley, which was completed in November 2022 by Victoria Communications Systems. The county also added two generators for a total project cost of around $900,000.

LCRA had submitted the sole bid for $4.998 million for what would include three new towers to be located in Gonzales, Belmont and Waelder, along with two new shelters, three emergency backup generators, a trunked radio network with geographically-redundant central control systems, interface with or replacement of existing dispatch console equipment, and redundant IP-based microwave backhaul.

However, that amount was $73,777.36 over the county’s construction budget, with a construction time of 399 days from notice to proceed to substantial completion. The county would have to pay the overage out of its own funds, but would own the towers upon them being finished, though it would use LCRA’s own radio system to operate, allowing LCRA to have operational use of the towers as well.

Court members had voted 3-2 in December to award the bid to LCRA after some tense and often heated discussion. At the time, Kevin La Fleur was still serving as Precinct 3 Commissioner and K.O. “Dell” Whiddon was serving as Precinct 1 Commissioner. During a later special called meeting, Brzozowski, La Fleur and Whiddon voted to name La Fleur to negotiate privately with LCRA for possible cost-saving measures.

In January, Matias was sworn in as the new Precinct 1 Commissioner, while Staton was sworn in as the new Precinct 3 Commissioner. Neither Matias nor Staton were part of the initial decision-making process regarding the tower project. Matias appears open to rehearing a proposal that would have Gonzales County pay for the new towers to be installed and to join the Greater Austin Travis Regional Radio System (GATRRS).

GATRRS made a presentation to the court in October and Schmidt as well as Davis and Boatright have said being on GATRRS could save the county at least $100,000 or more in radio maintenance fees each year. It is possible the court could reconsider joining GATRRS as soon as their March 24 meeting or at one of their two April meetings.