Editor's note: This story was updated to clarify the final building location and several other details in the story.
Montgomery County commissioners voted 4-1 to advertise for architect services for a new justice center and courthouse facility during the March 26 meeting of Commissioners Court. Commissioners also discussed potential future financing options for the project that could include a bond election.
The architectural services approved would be used for a site adjacent to the Alan B. Sadler Commissioners Court building, following discussion of five different options.
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Community Impact previously reported that commissioners voted to create the 523rd Criminal District Court due to growing caseloads and overcrowding at the county jail, part of county growth necessitating expanded facilities. Despite moving forward to find an architect for a future facility, commissioners this week said the question of how much it would cost remains.
What happened
Two district court judges, 457th District Judge Vince Santini and 284th District Judge Kristin Bays were both called to the podium during the meeting to discuss available options for the new development. Santini said the next steps to move forward on new development would be to decide on a site for the new justice center and courthouse.
“The first thing y'all need to do is choose a site because we can't get around bidding and get pricing on architecture until we get a site ... that’s 291,000 square feet regardless of what you choose,” Santini said.
He said county officials received a courthouse study outlining where certain items could be placed, noting that jail options are still up for discussion. Bays said any further delays could make capacity issues at the courthouse more challenging.
“We really cannot wait any longer... if you pick a spot, then you can take resumes for an architect and choose an architect to draw construction plans,” Bays said.
Bays said Montgomery County needs nine more courts to handle the caseload from 2025.
The debate
Bays said architectural plans will be completed at no expense to taxpayers through a court facilities fund both earmarked for judicial purposes.
Potential funding sources for the construction of the future building or complex include:
- General obligation bonds
- Certificates of obligation
- Public-private partnership
Precinct 4 Commissioner Matt Gray said his preference would be to develop a long-term plan before proceeding.
“Before I will even think about being in a position to spend any funding on a courthouse or a new facility, this county and this leadership needs to be able to sit down and workshop what a 20-year plan looks like,” Gray said.
He proposed the option of a rolling bond process. However, Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley disagreed with a bond option.
“We can't wait much longer. It's not going to be cheap and there's other ways of looking at it besides just bonds ... I'm not crazy about bonds,” Riley said.
Out of five votes, Precinct 3 Commissioner Ritch Wheeler cast the opposing vote. The location proposed in the motion was adjacent to the current Alan B. Sadler Commissioners Court building, and he said he did not think the new construction should be behind the current building. Wheeler said he believed they should be built together side-by-side with the option of a tunnel or bridge to make transporting inmates safer.
Wheeler said the county cannot decide to place a bond on the November ballot until a time period 78-90 days before the election, which will not begin until August.
The cost
Montgomery County Treasurer Melanie Bush said she’s been working with Commissioner Riley on cost estimates for a variety of potential funding options. She said if the county was to hold a bond election, the cost could range from $250 million for a single courthouse building to a “worst-case” scenario of $700 million for a courthouse and jail, which would mean a debt service of $43 million annually under current rates for 30-year bonds.
Bush said for the $250 million range, for a courthouse alone, it would cost $15 million-$16 million annually in debt service.
Budget Officer Amanda Carter said that a tax rate increase is “almost guaranteed” for a bond scenario.
County Attorney B.D. Griffin noted that if a public-private partnership was pursued, that would also affect the maintenance and operations portion of the tax rate, rather than debt service.
County Judge Mark Keough said a decision on financing would be decided at a later date.
What else?
The court also discussed how the old courthouse, located at 301 N. Thompson Street, could be used once a new one is built.
“I think we could save the courthouse. We could turn it into the Ninth Court of Appeals. We keep the lawyers, for the most part, happy, and then we build a justice center that includes a jail and a courthouse,” Wheeler said.
After renovations, Bays said could the old building be used as a possible site to increase tourism such as a movie theater, event center or even a law school for Sam Houston State University.
