Engineering Services is responsible for all City construction contracts, including the preparation of bid/contract documents, development of plans and specifications, advertising, bid opening, construction administration and payments. Some departments assume a greater role in some aspects of construction projects due to specialized expertise or resource availability, i.e. Airport, Water and Wastewater.
Construction contracts are reviewed by the Department of Risk Management and the City Attorney prior to award. Minor maintenance work or service calls are handled by individual departments and governed by Purchasing Department policies and procedures. Examples of minor maintenance work and service calls include such work as repairing a faucet, servicing an air conditioner, or repairing a door lock.
Construction projects require the contractor to provide all labor, equipment, and materials to complete an item of work. Major maintenance such as replacement of a plumbing system, installation of new electrical or computer conduit/conductors, replacement of an air conditioning system, and roof repair/replacement are also considered to be construction projects.
Construction contracts for more than $50,000.00 are governed by Chapter 252 of the Local Government Code for purposes of advertising, bidding, and award.
Small construction contracts of $50,000.00 or less are generally administered under City Policies with the exception of federally-funded projects and HUB (Historically Underutilized Businesses) projects having statutory controls based on contract amount ($3,000.00 - $50,000.00).
