Monday, May 6, 2024
With demolition of the old Coryell County jail — which currently houses justices of the peace, constables and their staff — scheduled for this spring, plans are being made to vacate the property.
County Commissioner Scott Weddle provided a timeline to the Coryell County Commissioners Court on Feb. 14, and said officials have been notified to remove sensitive materials (official documents) from the building.
Requests for bids for the demolition are scheduled to be posted, and an on-site review of the property is scheduled for March 2.
The demolition of the old jail will not only result in building a new facility (the justice center, or Leon Street annex) for the staff working there, but will also allow for the expansion of the current Coryell County Jail.
On April 4, construction firm Butler-Cohen is scheduled to submit a price to the county, and the guaranteed maximum price is scheduled to be finalized on April 11.
"There are topics we'll have to address eventually," Weddle said. "Whether to remove the AC units or replace them. One is original to the jail so it's about 30 years old.”
The location where those displaced by the demolition and construction will be moved temporarily remains to be finalized.
"I should have something to present to the court by the next meeting that I believe will be a suitable option," said County Judge Roger Miller.
Weddle and Commissioner Ryan Basham visited the old jail on Feb. 7 and looked at electronic devices, Weddle said. "We need to come up with an action plan to dispose of that property. My recommendation is that we do it as a lot and get a certificate of destruction. It's a massive amount of stuff that's been set aside, mainly obsolete electronics."
Miller said the county is still awaiting plat approval from the city of Gatesville before work can begin.
"Regarding items in the old jail (that will be retained), is there any notice they'll need assistance with the storage of that?" Miller asked.
"We have a container the county owns that will work for it," said Commissioner Kyle Matthews. "It's currently being used for courthouse records so there's adequate space."
He said officials will tag materials with a label to determine whether the items need to be kept or disposed of.
"There's a lot of boxes — a lot of trash, actually," Weddle said.
Basham said that is because there are "30-something years" of materials being stored at the old jail. That won't be the case for long, however.
"Anything in the building as of March 15 is deemed disposable so we can get it cleared out and ready for demo," Weddle said.
