Morrison: More Locals Getting Piece Of Courts Contract Than He Thought, But Still Not Enough

After a meeting with the general contractor for Fort Bend County’s judicial center, Precinct 1 Commissioner Richard Morrison said it appears more local subcontractors will be hired for the $58 million project than he first thought.

But Morrison, who expressed irritation earlier Thursday over the amount of work local contractors and craftsmen had won on the project, said he still believes Fort Bend residents should have a bigger slice of the job.

Once estimated to cost $74 million, the judicial center will be built by Houston contractor JE Dunn Construction, on Williams Way in Richmond, across from the county jail. Final negotiations during an economic downturn have resulted in a project that now will cost about $16 million less than originally estimated, or about $58 million.

Morrison said earlier Thursday he had recently seen a list of JE Dunn’s subcontractors for the contract, and had only found one from Fort Bend County, listed as performing soil treatment, in return for $5,950.

Morrison called the general contractor and asked for a meeting Thursday afternoon. Fort Bend County Facilities Management and Planning Director Don Brady also attended.

After that meeting Morrison said he was told there were about 55 bid packages associated with the courts complex, and Fort Bend County subcontractors bid on 12 of them. Five local subcontractors won their bids.

One of those, Schramme Construction, will get about $1 million to do “earth work and site utilities,” Morrison said.

Sources told FortBendNow that Allied Concrete also has won a bid to supply concrete for the project – likely a significant job since the 215,000-square-foot building will largely be constructed of cast concrete.

Morrison said he also was told Allied would do the concrete work, but he said Brady’s office hadn’t been able to show him documentation indicating that fact.

So far, he said, he has indications that five Fort Bend County subcontractors have won bids to do about $1.8 million in work on the $58 million project.

“We still get just 2%, maybe. I’d like to see more,” Morrison said. “I still think we should be able to get more Fort Bend companies” involved in the work.

County Judge Bob Hebert said JE Dunn’s final contract proposal still must be approved by Commissioners Court before work can proceed. He said if Morrison raises the issue at an upcoming court meeting, “that is one of the questions we’ll demand be addressed.”

A spokeswoman for JE Dunn didn’t return a phone call seeking comment.