PARKER COUNTY — Parker County Commissioners voted Monday to begin a process that would direct $200,000 in transportation bond funds toward the Ranch House Road bridge rebuild in Willow Park.

During the meeting, however, it appeared unclear as to whether the transfer of funds could actually take place.

The court approved an interlocal agreement with the City of Willow Park expecting that the bridge replacement would be identified as a funding target in an addendum if attorneys could work through the legal issues.

Some expressed concerns that the city’s prior contract for the job — awarded to a sole bidder on an emergency basis, according to city attorney Ryder Scott — might prove a roadblock to the county’s required bidding process.

“They have already awarded a contract, but we have to bid it out,” Precinct 4 Commissioner Dusty Renfro explained after the Monday court session. “We’re not supposed to award it without going through our [bid] process.”         

According to the City of Willow Park’s website Monday, construction was set to begin that day on a replacement for the Ranch House Road Bridge located between Navajo Trail and Squaw Creek Road.

The bridge was closed to through traffic in mid-December after TxDOT engineers found that braces supporting it were failing and told the city the bridge might collapse, Scott said.

The city determined, Scott said, that spending about $135,000 to replace the structure was better than spending about $100,000 to repair it.

City officials knew county funds had been earmarked, but not spent, for upgrades to Ranch House Road, Scott said, and Renfro said he was willing to re-direct the funds to the bridge project.

“We got the contract ready to go,” Scott said, “and provided the contract to Steve Harris, [of Harris Welding & Construction.]”

After discussions with Judge Mark Riley and County Attorney John Forrest, Scott said, Riley told him they should ask the court who the contracting entity should be, city or county.

“The result was that the contractor was asked to stand by subject to action by the county,” Scott said, adding that the county will bid the project.  

“I will get a contract to John, and we will turn around the bid process,” he said. “It won’t delay it; we have the bid documents.”

Renfro admitted he might have spent his discretionary bond funds a different way but wanted to honor former commissioner Jim Webster’s pledge.

“Jim assigned $200,000 in bond money for paving and concrete work on Ranch House Road,” he said, “but Willow Park did it without going through our bidding process. They did it and paid for it, then asked for reimbursement.

“Legally, we cannot do that. We have to pay contractors, not the city.”

He had been looking for another project, he said, and settled on the bridge.

Monday morning, Renfro wondered if the city’s actions might have cost them county funds, as it did before.

“It could lead down the same road,” he speculated, “so that we can’t give them the money. They may have to reject their contract.”

County Attorney John Forrest said a city can terminate a contract if the only thing it has done is award a bid.

“My understanding is that they have not executed the contract, and work has not begun,” he said.

The city’s website Monday, however, said the city had executed a contract for the Ranch House Road Bridge replacement, with construction to begin Feb. 13.

On Tuesday, the website announced a delay in the construction start date due to contract negotiations.

Willow Park Mayor Marvin Glasgow told the Democrat he was concerned that the county bidding process might delay the project, a vital part of an important north-south thoroughfare.

“[Having the bridge out] is affecting our fire department, slowing things down,” he said. “For calls north of the bridge, they have to go west on Sam Bass, right on Squaw Creek for two miles, then north on Ranch House Road.

“They tell me we have a four-minute response time, but now we can’t do that,” he said.

According to the city’s website Monday, the original plans called for the bridge to be open to public use April 13.

County purchasing agent Deena Nichols said the bid process — which includes advertising, document preparation, a pre-bid conference and evaluation — can be expedited to six weeks but typically takes between 60 and 90 days.