‘I Need a Plumber’ program gets boost
Bexar County officials, recognizing that a lot of people are still suffering from a lack of running water from last month’s winter storm, have gone into the plumbing assistance business.
Commissioners Court on Tuesday selected a prime contractor for the county’s “I Need A Plumber” program to help residents with broken pipes. Selection of a contractor follows last week’s announcement by Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and other county and suburban officials of a second phase of the $5 million Bexar County Plumbing Assistance program launched in late February.
Hundreds of thousands of CPS Energy customers were left without power, sometimes for days at a time, causing water pipes to burst and pumps to fail. Many of those affected live in unincorporated parts of the county or the 26 suburban cities.
Wolff had said the county would “fix the problem” facing its residents by connecting them directly with a qualified, reliable plumber.
A-ram Plumbing, a 23-year-old company and a 2010 graduate of the county’s small business and entrepreneurship department’s Mentor Protégé Program, will play a key role in the initiative. Under a public health and safety provision of the Texas Local Government Code, the county was not required to seek bids from multiple contractors.
David Marquez, the county’s economic and community development director, said the county so far has received 50 applications for the “I Need A Plumber” program, and 121 applications for a reimbursement program, which provides up to $1,500 in parts and labor costs per household.
A-ram is “willing to take this on, on top of their regular commercial workload,” Marquez said.
Commissioners cautioned that the county should be ready to bring in more contractors or subcontractors to respond to needs.
The county estimates it also has distributed over 40,000 cases of bottled water in areas without running water, some in outlying areas that are served by private wells. County officials said there are 46 water providers in the county serving residents who are not eligible for the plumbing assistance offered by the San Antonio Water System.
County residents can apply in English and Spanish at bexar.org/pipes or by calling 210631-6000 for plumbing dispatch assistance, or 210-631-5000 for reimbursement. To qualify for either program, a household must meet federal housing income guidelines for families earning 80 percent or below the area median income — about $57,700. The programs don’t apply to renters, or for repairs to sprinkler systems, pools or water softeners.
Garbage hauler chosen
The commissioners also authorized county staff to negotiate with Frontier Waste Solutions, the highest ranked of four bidders, for
an agreement to provide waste-pickup service to about 3,700 homes in the Camelot II, Candlewood, Crownwood, Glen North and Glen South neighborhoods, which lack permanent service. County officials are hopeful the new program will curtail trash dumping in those subdivisions.
The city of San Antonio currently provides trash pickup to Camelot II through a pilot program set to run through June 30. The county’s new privatized service would then begin.
Job training center
The commissioners approved a $1.17 million agreement with Marmon Mok Architects for design and development services on a county workforce training center at Brooks. Marmon Mok, one of 14 firms that initially bid, will work on the 30,000square-foot job-training facility to be completed by May 2023 at City Base Road and Aviation Landing. The center, expected to cost $10.5 million, will include classrooms, labs and meeting spaces.
The building will be used to support the county’s partnership with the Texas Federation for Advance Manufacturing Education, or TX FAME, which is working with 10 companies locally to create an employmentplacement pipeline. Wolff said the county should broaden its branding for the center to foster other workforce development partnerships.
“This is a private-sector initiative from the get-go, and it always should be that,” Marquez said.
Pandemic upgrades
The Commissioners Court heard an update on public health and safety improvements at county facilities during the pandemic. In May 2020, commissioners approved an allocation of $5.4 million in federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars for indoor air quality improvements, enhanced screening and monitoring, and other equipment and materials.
Major upgrades include $2.2 million at the AT&T Center, $2.1 million at the Center for Health Care Services, $1.2 million at Freeman Coliseum and adjacent grounds and $404,000 at Toyota Field.