Travis County voters will decide on a new civil and family courthouse during the November general election.

Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously voted to place the proposed project on the ballot after returning from executive session Jan. 27.

The court discussed possible project cost increases and the merits of holding an election in May or November during the meeting.

It is the latest step in a months-long process of researching current and future legal needs and attemptingto bring down the projects cost.

The 14-story courthouse is estimated to cost $294 million and would include 28 courtrooms and a four-level underground parking garage.

Cost escalation

Matias Segura, senior adviser with project consultants URS Corp., told the court Jan. 27 they expect project costs to escalate 4 percent annually and 7 percent by the estimated midpoint of construction of March 2017.

If builders reach the projects midpoint in May 2017, the project would cost around $2.5 million more, Segura said. Reach the midpoint in July and the delay costs around $5 million. By September, the delay would cost around $7.3 million more.

Timing

DeBeauvoir told the court that adding the courthouse to the ballot changes the scale of the election.

Roughly 16 government entities, including Bee Cave and Cedar Park, plan to hold elections in May. This will require 88 to 90 polling places and roughly 550 polling workers and cost roughly $575,000, she said.

Add the courthouse to the ballot, and the election would require 200 Election Day sites as well as early voting locations and 1,100 polling workers, she said. The cost also rises to around $950,000similar to how much it would cost to hold the election in November, she said.

Feedback

Precinct 2 Commissioner Brigid Shea said voters may hear a lot of talk from the Legislature about local debt and appraisal caps before having to vote on the courthouse if the referendum appeared on the ballot in May.

It might not be the best atmosphere to go to voters for a big-ticket item, she said.

Judge Eric M. Shepperd, president-elect of the Austin Bar Association board of directors, said the legal community is ready to help educate the public about the project.

The dockets are growing, he said. We had three courts in [theHeman M. Sweatt Courthouse]; now we have 21. Youve seen the crowds. Weve all seen it. We need this courthouse as a community.