JEFF DAVIS COUNTY – Another twist to the Jeff Davis County Community Center renovation project was revealed during a November 6 special session of Commissioners Court when the bid acceptance and award of the $3 million project was rescinded from Six Rose’s Construction of Fort Davis and was re-awarded to Aztec Contractors, Inc. of El Paso.

The project is intended to not only provide a community center space in the former Fort Davis Outfitters retail store on Cemetery Road but to also serve as an emergency shelter for area residents.

The two companies were the sole bidders on the project, with the Six Rose’s bid coming in slightly lower than Aztec’s. Project architects Rotenberry Wellen of Midland advised accepting Aztec’s bid, but last month commissioners chose the Six Rose’s bid since it was lower and the company is local.

The award rescission and reassignment were the only two items on Wednesday’s agenda for the 9 a.m. court session. The court had expected to hear from Lance Rose of Six Rose’s to address the court, but he was not in attendance. County Attorney Glen Eisen confirmed that Rose was sent two emails, advising him of the meeting, the time and the agenda.

Without Rose or anyone else addressing the court, Commissioner John Davis moved to rescind the award to Six Rose’s, noting that the performance bond for the project — something required of contractors to ensure they follow all regulations and complete the project — had not been posted. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Jody Adams. During the discussion on the motion, Project Architect Carl Ware, who attended the meeting via Zoom, confirmed that Six Rose’s had not yet posted a bond. 

Commissioner Royce Laskoskie said that a bid amount was not stipulated in the original request for proposal process soliciting bids for the project and questioned the rush to rescind the award. Judge Curtis Evans stated that the urgency was to encumber grant funds for the project as soon as possible. Evans asked County Grantsman Larry Francell to address the need for encumbering funds. Francell stated that the county needs to follow through on obtaining 2025 grant funds for the project and that the 2024 funds must be encumbered by a contract before the end of the year.

Evans said that the decision to rescind was not based solely on the bond concerns. Davis reminded the court that the county had issues with another contractor on the project to construct the bunkhouse at the fire department and they did not wish to experience a similar situation with the community center. The motion to rescind the award to Six Rose’s passed with only Laskoskie opposed. 

The second agenda item was to discuss and take action concerning the awarding of the project to Aztec, allowing the county judge to sign a formal contract with the contractor upon satisfactory completion of an environmental study, required for compliance with the terms of HUD financing for the project.

Davis made the motion to award the project to Aztec, seconded by Adams. Again, all votes but Laskoskie’s were in favor. Aztec Contractors President Frank Spencer III was present and provided the court with a certification of a bond for $3 million for the project.

Commissioners now await the receipt of the impending environmental study to proceed further with a formal contract signing and project initiation.