(Staff Photo/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Smith County officials are planning upgrades to a government building from the 1950s to prevent water from leaking into the building.

The Smith County Commissioners Court is planning to move forward on a contract related to upgrades at the Cotton Belt Building at its regular meeting at 9:30 on Tuesday.

The Cotton Belt Building at 1517 W. Front St. was built in the 1950s as office space for the St. Louis Southwestern Railroad, but Smith County bought the building in 1985.

The county’s tax office is located in the building, and the county rents office space to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and the 12th Court of Appeals, among others.

Ed Nichols, the director of facility services for Smith County, said the county wants to waterproof the building, seal off the windows, and have a contractor do some streetscaping and landscaping to make the building more attractive.

“It’s an older building,” Nichols said. “We just want to make sure it’s safe from outside elements. … As far as any interior stuff that’s going to go on, I don’t know at this point.” 

In October, the building was 75 percent vacant. Members of the court said the county should prioritize repairs to the building because of the potential revenue the county would receive from new tenants.

In March, the court authorized county staff to begin seeking bids from companies to make upgrades to the building. The county has since retracted its request for bids, and is now looking to contract with an engineering company.

Kim Gould, the purchasing director for Smith County, said the county wants to pay Wharry Engineering to write the specifications on what the building needs to be used in a new request for proposals.

“We’re going to do a professional service contract with them,” Gould said. “We need an engineer to actually, technically write the specifications so it’s clear to the vendors what we’re asking for.”

Gould said the county originally looked at replacing the windows in the Cotton Belt Building but realized the county would save more money doing work to seal the building and make it air tight.

Gould said hiring Wharry Engineering to do the work will make the request for proposals much clearer, thereby making it easier for contractors to bid on the project, and getting the best value for the county.

A full version of Tuesday’s agenda is available at TylerPaper.com.

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The Smith County Commissioners Court meets at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesdays in the Smith County Courthouse Annex Building at 200 E Ferguson Street in Tyler.