County to start purchasing jail food from local vendors

The Hays County Jail will be able to purchase some food items from local vendors who are outside of the state or cooperative purchasing programs the jail typically uses.

At its meeting Tuesday, the Hays County Commissioners Court approved a resolution granting an exemption to the competitive bidding process for the purchase of some food items. The Hays County Sheriff’s Office will be able to solicit informal bids at one-month intervals from vendors who are not members of state or cooperative purchasing programs.

“There’s just certain local vendors who can beat that price of the state contract or co-op contract,” County Jail Administrator Julie Villalpando told the commissioners.

“Shop local and save money? My two favorite phrases,” County Judge Ruben Becerra said.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe thanked the sheriff’s office for “thinking outside the box” by asking for this exception.

“It does give our local vendors a chance to do business with the county at lower prices,” she said. “And any time we can save funds it’s always a plus.”

In other business, the commissioners voted to ratify the submission of a grant application to the Health and Human Services Commission for a mental health coordinator for the county’s Veterans Service Office. The $48,120 grant requires the county to match 50 percent, or $24,060, and will have a two-year span from Sept. 1, 2019, through Aug. 31, 2021.

Jude Prather, head of Veterans Services, emphasized the importance of providing mental health care for veterans.

“I’d say about 80 percent of what we do is help put pen to paper and file for benefits,” he said of his office. “... But the follow-through is where I want to make sure we’re having no vets slipping through the cracks.”

Prather noted that from 2013 through 2018, the number of veterans the county is serving increased by 300 percent, but his department has only added one full-time employee in the same time period.

“I couldn’t say enough good things about your office and what you do for our community,” Becerra told Prather.

Ingalsbe echoed Becerra’s praise and added, “As we all know, mental health has become a big issue, and anything we can do to help our veterans, I support.”