STAFF REPORT

Following protests that even opponents conceded were anti-climatic, the Hays County commissioners court rescinded an engineering contract awarded to KBR for Farm-to-Market Rd 110, saying they have concerns about the company’s ability to perform.

On a motion from Pct. 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe, the court voted 5-0 to walk way KBR and instead give the $600,000-plus contract to Houston-based S&D Infrastructure Ltd.

“Our goal is to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money. Recent allegations of subpar work on contracts and breach of implied warranties” led Ingalsbe to recommend the change, she said.

A half-dozen opponents spoke against the contract, which had been apparently dead in the water since two of them opposed the deal in commissioners court two weeks ago.

“Don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split you,” Iraq veteran Bryan Hannah said in court to Mike Sexton, the KBR project manager for the city of San Marcos’ portion of the road, the first segment of the San Marcos loop.

UPDATE 2:30 p.m. APRIL 7: KBR’s communications director Heather L. Browne released the following written statement: “We are disappointed with the Commissioner’s decision. KBR has a solid track record of high-quality construction and infrastructure work that could serve the county well on this project. Hays County conducted an open and transparent process to select an engineering team for this assignment and determined that the KBR Team was best qualified. It is regrettable that this decision was apparently overturned because of misrepresentations of KBR’s performance on matters completely unrelated to this engineering assignment.”

RELATED IN THE MERCURY:

• Veterans’ concerns over KBR puts loop engineering contract on hold | March 26, 2009
• KBR contract still up in the air | March 27, 2009
• Video: Veterans press Hays County to dump KBR | March 26, 2009
• Hunter Industries gets construction contract for part of McCarty widening | May 13, 2008
• San Marcos loop work on the road again | April 21, 2009