Parker County commissioners on Monday, Oct. 26, approved a one-year, $698,855 service agreement for the county’s Motorola radio system; signed off on more than $230,000 in new road equipment and trucks; and moved forward on engineering work for four road projects, most of them pitched as safety fixes.
Commissioners approved a Motorola Solutions Service Agreement, which covers the county’s emergency radio system through Sept. 30, 2027, with an annual payment of $698,855.
Purchasing Agent Kim Rivas described it as “just the annual service contract with Motorola.” The largest piece of the agreement is a $370,867 ASTRO system premier package, along with about $202,349 for a system upgrade agreement and smaller amounts for implementation services and training.
The court also approved three equipment purchases through the BuyBoard cooperative purchasing program:
Commissioners also approved buying ballistic door panels for Parker County Sheriff’s Office vehicles from Dana Safety Supply through BuyBoard.
Rivas said the court had already awarded a request for proposals for ballistic windshields to Dana Safety Systems, and the price “came in at such a significant lower amount that we had excess funds.” The county then asked for a quote to add ballistic panels to the front driver’s and passenger doors, which were not part of the original request.
The money comes from an Office of the Governor grant. Rivas said the county is waiting for the governor’s office to approve the added panels “to make sure that we are completely covered.”
Commissioners approved engineering contracts or amendments on four transportation projects. Freese and Nichols presented them.
• Shadle Road — Precinct 2 Commissioner Jacob Holt said Shadle Road has been on his list “since my first week in office” but kept being pushed back behind other projects. The county will realign Shadle to the north where it meets FM 920. Holt said the change will improve line of sight, access to the farm-to-market road, and grading and slope, which he called “pretty important for safety on a road that’s far busier now than it was 10, 15 years ago.”
The engineer called it an accelerated project because of the safety concern, and said the work includes getting a permit from TxDOT. Design services total $75,200 and will come from Precinct 2 discretionary funds. Holt said he would prefer to draw first on a separate “207” fund balance, and he expects to use up that balance during construction.
• Carter Road — Holt said the Carter Road intersection with Highway 51 is an “unprotected super two.” Drivers must stop in the left northbound lane to turn west onto Carter Road, and the cars behind them are often rear-ended. He said there was a fatal crash at the location in early 2023.
Through TxDOT’s Highway Safety Improvement Program, the state has set aside $2.2 million to widen the road into a “protected super two” with a dedicated turn lane. TxDOT will pay for and manage construction, and the county will provide engineering. The approved amendment, totaling $74,758, covers extended transitions TxDOT requested during design, the surveying for that work, and construction-phase support.
• Church Road — In Precinct 1, commissioners approved a $155,000 amendment for the Church Road extension off FM 730. The project originally called for a T-intersection. The engineer said a roundabout was added because the road sits close to Newsome Mound Road, which will be realigned to connect to the extension. The amendment covers additional right-of-way acquisition and subsurface utility work.
To keep the project on schedule, the county plans to bid the main road first while it acquires the extra right-of-way, then build the roundabout.
• FM 113 — Commissioners approved $34,000 in construction-phase services for the FM 113 project, a 2016 bond project that TxDOT bid. The fee covers design changes made when crews ran into field conditions during construction, and it will come from Precinct 3 discretionary funds.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Larry Walden said the project rebuilt a railroad crossing at Millsap that he called “the most dangerous railroad crossing in Parker County.” Drivers crossing the tracks had to turn left immediately, then right, around buildings that blocked their view, and low-riding trailers would get stuck on the tracks.
Walden said the effort took more than a decade. Delays came from environmental issues tied to removing the old buildings, a letter to the governor asking to stop the project, and TxDOT saying it lacked money.
“This is one of the most significant improvements in safety in the roadway in Parker County since I’ve been here,” he said, and suggested a ribbon-cutting. Walden also said the county shouldn’t have to pay the added cost, because TxDOT asked him to place the dirt involved. “We shouldn’t be paying for it, but we have to,” he said.
Precinct 1
Extended the construction bond, in the form of a letter of credit, for Waterstone Estates to January 2027, because its roads aren’t yet ready for county maintenance.
After a public hearing with no speakers, approved “no through truck” signs for 18-wheelers on Newsome Mound Road.
Conditionally approved a revised plat for Kutch Heights 2nd Filing, Lots 14-R1 and 14-R3, 5.035 acres off Little Cat Track Road, with well water. Approval is pending the final plat document and payment of a tax balance.
Approved a driveway-distance waiver for existing driveways at Circle R&T, 16.5565 acres off North Lake Drive.
Precinct 2
Released a road assessment lien on Lot 24 of Oak Tree Ranch Estates after the lot was paid in full.
Approved driveway and groundwater-study waivers, a final plat and a right-of-way deed for Perkins Place, five lots on 10.5 acres at Advance and Perkins roads, by New Port LLC. The plat is conditional on a tax balance being paid off.
Approved a groundwater-study waiver for Shea Estates. three lots on 17.517 acres off Loggins Trail.
Precinct 3
Approved an interlocal agreement with Hood County on replatting Homestead Acres, which crosses the county line.
Conditionally approved a lot-line adjustment plat for Weatherford Mini-Ranch Estates Tracts 27R and 28R, 22.409 acres.
Conditionally approved the Diamond Crest final plat, three lots on 14.579 acres off Old Brock Road, and accepted its right-of-way deed.
Conditionally approved a revised plat for Doss Road Place, 6.477 acres.
Precinct 4
Conditionally approved an amended plat for Bluejack Ranch Phase II, 59.0346 acres off Lantern Avenue. Approval depends on payment of rollback taxes owed after the land’s agricultural exemption was removed.
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