ARANSAS COUNTY, Texas — The Aransas County Commissioners Court heard arguments Monday from Teal Construction and the architects at PGAL regarding the ongoing delays in completing the new Aransas County Courthouse.
The original courthouse was damaged beyond repair in 2017 during Hurricane Harvey. The new courthouse project broke ground in 2022.
Michael Miller, vice president of Teal Construction, said he first learned that the county was considering terminating his company’s contract from a KRIS 6 News reporter.
“I was shocked. I was literally shocked,” Miller said. “I joked at first. I said, ‘What, are we being fired?’ And she said, ‘Actually, yes.’ And I was floored.”
A full house of Aransas County residents filled the makeshift courtroom inside the Rockport Aquarium Education Center for the special meeting. Much of the public comment supported Teal Construction, while others voiced frustration over the courthouse’s continued delays.
“As a taxpayer—my daughter lives here, my grandson lives here—I don’t want to hand them a tab for something that can be resolved now,” Patrick McKelvey told KRIS 6 News. “We need better communication between the county commissioners court, the design team, and the construction company.”
Mark Williams, a representative of Broaddus & Associates, spoke on behalf of the architects. He listed alleged instances of “noncompliant work,” including the removal of several completed exterior structures, or “shells,” to fix errors. In response to each of Williams’ claims, a Teal representative argued that the issues had been addressed and were unrelated to the architects’ latest concerns.
Miller said the delays stem from communication breakdowns between Teal and the architects.
“We built the building and then found out very far into the construction process that there were significant changes and significant long lead items needed to procure to finish the building,” Miller said.
He also pointed to a “major issue” with the project, saying the design did not comply with Texas Department of Jail Standards. He claimed PGAL “never incorporated the changes into the documents that were provided to us.” As a result, construction moved forward without necessary modifications, and only later did the county discover that major changes and additional materials were required.
“That was 100% the responsibility of the architect,” Miller said.
After hearing both sides, Judge Ray Garza and the Commissioners Court decided not to terminate Teal Construction’s contract—for now. Instead, they voted to accept a letter from the architects stating there was sufficient evidence to justify termination if the county chose to move in that direction.
“We decided to just accept the architect’s letter,” Garza told KRIS 6 News. “We can accept it and not terminate, which is what we voted on.”
For now, Teal Construction will continue work on the courthouse, and Garza emphasized that discussions will continue.
“We’re still moving forward,” he said. “Next week, we’ll have a workshop where we can plan further and hash this all out.”
Despite frustrations over the delays, Garza reassured residents that the goal remains to complete a courthouse that meets safety standards and will serve the community for years to come.
“Nobody’s more frustrated than I am,” he said. “But the ultimate goal is to have a building that we’re all going to be proud of.”
A date for the workshop has not yet been announced.
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