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New Braunfels City Council unanimously appointed The Law Offices of Ryan Henry to independently investigate issues relating to the police department headquarters following closed session during a special meeting Aug. 3.
A quick note
Council member Michael Capizzi recused himself and was not present during the meeting on the advice of legal counsel. Capizzi is employed by Joeris General Contractors, the construction firm that built the city’s police department headquarters.
Some background
The 2019 bond project, which cost $36.3 million, had a contracted warranty of one year, during which 193 items were identified, submitted and completed. Door adjustments, fencing, roofing, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, items were the most common issues identified. Although Joeris General Contractors worked with the city to ensure the necessary corrections were made, roof leaks and other structural issues continued to be reported following the one-year warranty period—which expired July 22, 2023.
Upon expiration of the warranty period and following continuous roof leak reports, Joeris General Contractors returned to the site in 2025 to address the roof leaks and hired a new roofing contractor to assess and repair the roof.
Other key players involved in the project include HMT, DBR Engineering and Terracon.
In July, the city hired a third-party engineer to conduct a full analysis of the police headquarters building four years after the building’s completion due to pavement lifting and consistent reports of a leaky roof. The analysis is expected to be completed in October, according to previous Community Impact reporting.
The impact
The city has paid about $85,839 in post-warranty construction repair costs, which have included sewer line repairs in September and July, along with roof repairs and temporary concrete repairs, according to a July 27 update presentation given to council. New Braunfels Deputy City Manager Jordan Matney said staff believes the sewer issues that occurred in September and July are due to ground swelling.
The city has also paid $168,168 for design and investigation, which includes a structural assessment and sewer and drainage assessment. The city has paid a total of $254,007 in post-warranty costs, according to the July 27 meeting presentation.
Joeris General Contractors has paid about $136,000 for temporary concrete, roof and HVAC repairs and $12,500 for a new survey examining elevations and an investigation into the electrical conduit. Joeris General Contractors has paid $148,500 in post-warranty costs, according to the July 27 presentation.
Matney said it is the city's responsibility to determine what the underlying cause of the issues is.
"Then we can have conversations about reimbursement after the fact. We are continuing to work with both the design team and the contractor as well as their subconsultants," Matney said July 27.
What they're saying
New Braunfels Mayor Michael French said the city is taking the matter very seriously and that it was encouraging to see council come together on the issue.
"The taxpayers of New Braunfels deserve an independent, objective review of the technical situation," French said in an emailed statement to Community Impact. "Retaining outside counsel is an essential step toward ensuring that all the facts come out."
In a letter to City Manager Robert Camareno, Dan Byrom, vice president of Joeris General Contractors’ San Antonio operations, said they remain fully committed to the city and its police department.
“Our goal is to work through any open items together and land on solutions that keep the project moving forward for everyone involved,” Byrom said in the letter.
