The Hockley County Commissioners’ Court discussed and reviewed a roofing proposal for county buildings during a regular meeting held Monday at the county’s courthouse.
Scott Cook, president and owner of Forrester Construction, said the documentation presented to the court would need to be sent to the insurance company to finalize the insurance claim. After that, they’d have a government contract for the installation of the roofs.
He said they have all the costs together to replace the roofing, as well as mechanical work in certain buildings, that the insurance company owes for hail damage. The insurance company has paid $1,773,000 so far on the insurance claim.
After some quotes and suggested supplemental items, Cook said the company owes the county another $398,000 for all the work that needs to be done.
He said the claim handles most of the buildings with adjustments like charge of materials based on size, but some buildings were listed with further discrepancies, such as the hospital needing air conditioning work and specific roof coating.
Since the presentation was not on the agenda as an action item, the court could not approve the forward move with the plan.
The court approved donations to the Hockley County Veterans from a benefit concert proceeds held by Nick Williams and Juan Partida.
The first donation approved was $500 from Western Fresh Water Inc. A $115 cash donation from the same concert was also approved by the court.
The court also approved a non-exclusive license agreement between Hockley County and a financial company for new financial software to be used by the county’s auditor and treasurer.
The court was told that the current software will discontinue their support in the next couple of years and the agreement is the next step to get in line for the new company’s service.
If they enter the agreement soon, they are projected to get service in 2026, which will be cheaper than the current software.
The presenter said the other counties on board with the new software have been satisfied, and the service is geared toward county government.
The court approved ad valorem tax refunds.
A circuit breaker appeared on the documents and was explained briefly as a 20% tax cap on all real property. The court was told it was something new and is set to expire in 2026, but it could be renewed.
The court approved a contract between the county and ECM Today for election administration.
Jody Rose said the item would replace the software system they currently use for document retention, including processes like scanning voter registration cards and election administration items.
Rose said the system replacement would have no cost change.
The minutes for the court’s Dec. 2 meeting were approved, as well as all monthly bills and claims submitted through Monday.