Thursday, March 28, 2024

County leaders focus on jail timeline, financing

Posted

A timeline of work needed to expand the Coryell County Jail, and plans to finance it, were presented by Commissioner Scott Weddle at the Oct. 25 meeting of the Coryell County Commissioners Court.

Plans for the Leon Street Annex, which will house precincts 3 and 4 of the Coryell County justices of the peace, was also on the agenda.

"Between the two projects, the jail needs to take precedence," Weddle said. "The Leon Street Annex is important, but the jail needs to be the priority."

Because the county has struggled to comply with state regulations limiting the number of jail inmates, county leaders have had to go before the Texas Jail Standards Commission and explain reasons and also plans to resolve the problem. They will next have to appear before the commission on Nov. 3, and if a satisfactory solution is not presented, the county could face financial penalties and even closure of the jail. That would force the county to send all its inmates elsewhere, which the commissioners have said would be financially devastating to the county.

Weddle said the architect for the projects has started working on construction documents and has met with a team from the sheriff's office to review security needs and modifications suggested by the jail commission.

"We are trying to get this done by the middle of next year," Weddle said. "We have a sense of urgency."

By the end of November or early December, the construction documents are expected to be complete and submitted to the jail commission. After bid packages are received and reviewed, a final proposal is expected to go before the commissioners court in early February.

"When all that is done we can start to break ground in mid-February," Weddle said. The timeline for completion "very aggressively is July – more likely October or November next year."

County Judge Roger Miller said the plats for the property will need to be resolved with the city of Gatesville, and asked "have we confirmed we can build to the property line?"

Weddle said the county didn't have anything in writing yet, but is working to have the play amended.

Miller said he was pleased by the timeline to get work done.

"It sounds good," he said. "It's aggressive but I think we'll do it."

Demolition work will be needed on portions of the property and the nearby county property housing the Precinct 3 and 4 JPs' offices. Although that work could possibly be done by the county road and bridge department, outside assistance could be required.

"I think the demo might be best left to a professional (demolition crew)," Weddle said.

Weddle said while the jail expansion is needed first, "in my opinion the Leon Street Annex is still an extremely important project. We don't want to lose any momentum on that. It is a much more complex project than the jail."

A large parking lot will also be built adjacent to the annex, and Weddle suggested spending a little extra to help make sure it is a prime location to help host downtown events.

"This is just a wild idea, guys but while they are doing the dirt work for the parking lot (which will have an estimated 139 to 140 spaces), when we put lighting up, why don't we put in conduits for RVs to accommodate food trucks and vendors. It would be a very upgraded, professional area where we could host events. We could take a blank piece of concrete and turn it into something the city and county could use forever. The RV conduits cost about $250, so not very much. You could have an upgraded facility at a minimal cost."

Miller said resolving the financing questions is crucial.

"Before phase 2 begins, the final question is can it be done,": he said. "It's the only thing that keeps us from taking the next step."

"That is literally the million-dollar question,” Weddle said. “Now comes the grinding of the paying for it. I talked with Mr. (Ben) Roberts (the county auditor). I try to be a pretty simple guy. Our current debt payments right now are $983,000 for the year. The debt for the jail and justice building would be $1 million and $50,000. That would be a little over $2 million in combined debt payments."

Savings from not having to send county inmates elsewhere would help pay for the new construction.

"We are currently paying anywhere from $1 million to $1.8 million a year to house jail inmates outside the county,” Weddle said. "It seems fiscally responsible to take that money and apply it to the debt service."

Roberts said the county will still have the payments to house inmates outside the county in 2023.

Weddle said the best financing option needs to be determined and suggested a financial expert outline of possibilities be presented at the Nov. 8 commissioners court meeting.

"If we're going to do a tax note, we have to get a recommendation from our county auditor that it's a fiscally responsible decision," he said.

Miller said he believes the debt service payments could be offset by cost savings in keeping more inmates in Coryell County.

"There will still be some inmates housed elsewhere but it would reduce the amount significantly to the point it would not significantly impact the tax rate," he said.

Weddle noted that the county jail routinely has 130 to 150 inmates, and the jail expansion would significantly alleviate the inmate housing crisis.

"It's a lot easier to place 10 (inmates) outside the county than to place 56 all over the great state of Texas," he said.

"At the next meeting we need to have a lot of action items. Plan on the Nov. 8 meeting to get this finalized."