WASHINGTON CO. TO BEGIN ROAD PAVING IN-HOUSE

  

Washington County’s Engineering and Development Services (EDS) department is shifting road paving operations in-house.

On Tuesday, the county unanimously authorized the purchase of a chip spreader and asphalt distributor truck.  EDS is moving away from contracting out paving services to instead providing them internally.

County Engineer Wesley Stolz said by doing this, the county can operate on its own timeline rather than having to wait on a contractor’s availability.

The chip spreader purchase from R.B. Everett & Co. comes out to $397,944, while the asphalt distributor truck from Associated Supply Company, Inc. is for $263,573.  Stolz said both purchases are through a state cooperative purchasing program and will pull from the department’s reserve funds.  He added that the vehicles are cheaper than what was initially budgeted for; initial cost projections were $400,000 for the chip spreader and $315,000 for the asphalt truck.  

Stolz said both vehicles are already manufactured and that the county should have them by October, in time for when the county begins the new road paving cycle in May 2024, once temperatures are consistently warm. 

Commissioner Candice Bullock said the court is investing in this new equipment due to prices and logistics, and County Judge John Durrenberger said this will allow the county to provide services “in a timely manner.” 

Commissioner Kirk Hanath said the challenges that the county faces with getting paving contracts and other related issues have been discussed for years.  He pointed to data given by Stolz that showed savings of $211,000 per year based upon the current level of cost.  He said this is “an investment to our county government” to have this equipment, but cautioned that “we definitely do not want to mess this one up” and this is “something that we just cannot fail at.”

Two other EDS department purchases were approved by commissioners in August, those being a pair of 2024 Freightliner dump trucks from Houston Freightliner for $250,436. 

The shift to internal road paving, and potential staff restructuring associated with it, may have played a role in the departure of several department employees, including two long-time ones.  Stolz told KWHI that three employees left the department this summer after being recruited to work for Waller County.  Washington County’s former county engineer, Ross McCall, now leads Waller County’s road and bridge department.

Stolz said two of the employees had worked in Washington County for around 20 years, while the third had been with the county for about a year and a half.  When asked if this operational adjustment contributed to their decision to leave, he conceded that there was “disagreement” and “a lot of frustration from that particular side of things.”

According to Stolz, the department filled the openings for the time being with existing staff as it brought in new employees.  One position has been filled, while another candidate has accepted an offer.  Those two roles were an administrative and development supervisor and an administrative assistant.  Fully staffed, he said the department employs 36 people, including over 30 in road and bridge and the remaining working in environmental and addressing. 

Regarding the third vacancy, a field operation supervisor position, Stolz said the role may change into one of an equipment operator, as with the county’s decision to bring paving services in-house, there could be a need to have more personnel in the field rather than supervisory roles.