Liberty County commissioners on Tuesday authorized a $50,000 earnest money agreement for a 39-acre tract of land on State Highway 146 in Liberty that will one day be the site of a law enforcement center. The land is being purchased from owner Jesse Lopez and is located just north of McGuire Road and Feathertrace Subdivision.
The law enforcement center will consist of two buildings – one housing the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and the Liberty County Office of Emergency Management, and the other being used for offices for the Texas Ranger, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens, Pct. 3 Constable and Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace.
The entire project is estimated to cost around $25 million. Commissioners on Tuesday also approved a resolution authorizing the publication of a notice of intent to issue combination tax and revenue certificates of obligation, which will fund the project.
“Once we passed the articles for certificates of obligation, I contacted our architect, Kenny Burns, and notified him to proceed with the plans and documents,” said Liberty County Judge Jay Knight on Thursday. “If everything goes well, we look to start turning dirt in January.”
A short-range estimate for when the buildings will be complete is 18 months, though Knight said it could take two years if the weather presents a problem.
Once the sheriff’s office moves into the new building, the current office on Beaumont Avenue next to the county jail will become a headquarters for the jail management contractor. The old emergency management offices inside the jail building will become offices for the Pct. 1 justice of the peace and constable, both of whom are currently using offices inside the county annex on Cos Street.
The intention is to sell the Cos Street building once it is no longer needed by the county.
The new law enforcement center will also allow the County to discontinue renting a portable building for the Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace.
“We have been renting that building in Hardin for years now. It’s been sitting there for 10 years. This will wipe $1,000 per month of rent off our books,” Knight said.
The Liberty County Jail will remain at its present location for now but the project’s master plan has an area set aside for a future jail.
Need to put it north county near rye to control the meth pandemic that is out of control corner of three counties and no one wants the jurisdiction
This doesn’t sound like defunding the police to me. Doesn’t the commissioners understand that fewer cops is cheaper and no cops is anarchy?
Well obviously need to open up the county check book, aka tax payer’s wallets to battle the “ragging marijuana problem”.
39 acres for 50.000 is a steal. Something doesn’t look right about the price of 39
acres for so cheap
50k is the earnest money, it is only a deposit. Don’t worry it is going to cost tax payers plenty.
50 thousand is a deposit it’s in the millions another tax burden on tax payers for the next 30 years
Liberty need to spend money on roadways in the city instead of some air conditioned offices.
Fix the third world country roads and sewer and utilities we have now and quit wasting tax money on things not needed took five years to get ditches dug out and were going to spend millions on something not needed
Unless you’re a judge or city council or mayor or some kind of city officials you’re roads and utilities and ditches are. Like something from South America almost unreal anything that taxes should pay for let’s dig into that before wasting some more money we don’t have
That’s all we need is more law enforcement,there’s enough cops already it’s getting out of control,spend taxpayers of liberty county money on liberty county not the law of liberty county
So spend $25 million to save $12,000 a year in rent? Now I’m no math expert so it makes total sense. Should be able to break even in about 2,000 years.