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GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER MUSEUM - THEATER AND ACCESS IMPVMTS

RS ELLIS INC
also known as SOUTHWEST CORPORATION
NominalComplete — fully paid
Construction

This is a construction contract with RS ELLIS INC to deliver “GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER MUSEUM - THEATER AND ACCESS IMPVMTS”. The city authorized spending up to $3,040,931, and $2,894,384 has been paid so far (95% of the ceiling).

Authorized (spending ceiling)
$3,040,931
Ordered / committed
$3,040,931 (100%)
Actually paid
$2,894,384 (95%)
from 9 checks in the city checkbook
Contract record lists $163,900 in its delivery-order field — understates actual checks.
Timeline
Jul 31, 2023
Kicked off Nov 8, 2023 · last check Sep 30, 2024

Why this status?

  • No expiration date on record — timeline signals can't be computed.

These are transparent signals, not judgments. A large unspent balance may be a legitimate multi-year ceiling or indefinite-delivery contract.

Payments on this contract

9 checkbook lines totaling $2,894,384 are booked directly against this contract — this is the amount actually paid.
The contract’s own record lists $163,900 in its “delivery-order referenced” field — a $2,730,484 understatement. That field only counts payments made through delivery orders, so we treat the checkbook total above as the real amount paid.
Where the money came fromGeneral Capital (bonds) · 100%
General Capital (bonds) · GCP-Library & Cultural PB/2018$2,894,384 (100%)

Funding source is read from the fund each check was drawn on. It tells you who is accountable: voters & Council for bond/general-capital money, ratepayers & utility commissions for enterprise money, Council for the General Fund.

What the money paid for
Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)$2,894,384 (100%)

Grouped from the city’s own line-item descriptions. Vague or generic labels are themselves a transparency signal worth questioning.

See all 9 individual checks
DateAmountProject / fundWhat forStatus
Sep 30, 2024$479,764PARD 2018 Bond Prop BGCP-Library & Cultural PB/2018Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)Paid
Jul 16, 2024$329,912PARD 2018 Bond Prop BGCP-Library & Cultural PB/2018Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)Paid
May 23, 2024$317,298PARD 2018 Bond Prop BGCP-Library & Cultural PB/2018Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)Paid
Apr 29, 2024$285,233PARD 2018 Bond Prop BGCP-Library & Cultural PB/2018Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)Paid
Mar 28, 2024$472,664PARD 2018 Bond Prop BGCP-Library & Cultural PB/2018Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)Paid
Mar 7, 2024$144,047PARD 2018 Bond Prop BGCP-Library & Cultural PB/2018Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)Paid
Feb 1, 2024$329,242PARD 2018 Bond Prop BGCP-Library & Cultural PB/2018Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)Paid
Dec 27, 2023$372,323PARD 2018 Bond Prop BGCP-Library & Cultural PB/2018Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)Paid
Nov 8, 2023$163,900PARD 2018 Bond Prop BGCP-Library & Cultural PB/2018Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)Paid

Linked via the contract number appearing as a payment’s source document (rf_doc_id = 23073100584) in the Austin checkbook. See all payments to this vendor →

Accountability

Administered by
Contract and Land Management Department
Delivered by (1 firm)
RS ELLIS INC

We couldn’t automatically match this contract to a City Council vote (the voting-record dataset starts in 2023, and older or consent-agenda items may not match by name). Most contracts are approved collectively on the Council consent agenda — so accountability runs through the managing department above and the Council vote on the award date, not an individual sponsor.

Documents & oversight

Contract type
Direct contract — billed against this contract number.

Assessing delivery vs. commitment: Austin doesn’t publish structured project milestones, so we can’t auto-verify that the work matches the contract. What we can do is show what the money was invoiced for (above) and link the approved scope — then, where it matters, dispatch a Spotter to confirm the work on the ground. Contracts whose purpose is well-documented vs. vague is exactly the signal that tells us where to look first.

Source & provenance

Contract number 23073100584 (CT) · Department 6100 · Managed by Contract and Land Management Department · Competitive Acquisition
From snapshot 2026-07-28.