Designs have been finalized for a 6,800 square-foot Liberty County Annex that will have offices for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, Pct. 6 Constable’s Office and the Permits Department. The approximately $3.5 million project is being federally funded through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Ground has yet to be broken for the new annex, which will be located on CR 3549 adjacent to the Santa Fe Administration and Activities Building in the Colony Ridge communities south of Plum Grove. The roughly two-acre site for the building was donated to the county by Colony Ridge developers. The anticipated construction time is 11 to 12 months and work should begin in the next 30 to 60 days, according to Liberty County Judge Jay Knight.
The annex will be the fourth in Liberty County – the others being in Cleveland, Liberty and Dayton. With development of the Colony Ridge communities still moving at a rapid pace, having a permits office in the annex will simplify the permit application and issuance process for builders and residents.
The move to include offices for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and the Pct. 6 Constable’s Office is aimed at helping law enforcement personnel be better equipped to handle the demands of the growing community, from traffic control and patrols to serving civil papers. Deputies with both agencies will also have offices where they can prepare and file reports. Connecting all three departments will be a central foyer.
The building will also have a garage with a vehicle lift where vehicles can be processed for evidence or searched for contraband items.
The new Colony Ridge annex was designed by Burns Architecture and will be built by White Construction, which were responsible for the new Liberty County Law Enforcement Center and Pct. 3 Annex, located on SH 146 N, Liberty. The new annex will be a steel structure with a masonry veneer and be similar in appearance to the previous two buildings.
The design allows for additional offices to be added on in the future.
“In a perfect world, we would have built something bigger, but with inflation, we are at our budget limit without having to go into the general fund,” said Knight. “We are having a little sticker shock at the construction costs.”
The rising costs due to inflation has Knight and other county leaders pondering the best way to fund a future county jail, which is in dire need as the county jail is out of space and inmates are being housed in neighboring counties and in the state of Louisiana. Land for a new county jail has been set aside behind the new law enforcement center.
Knight said the Texas Jail Commission has suggested an 815-bed jail for Liberty County, which at today’s construction prices would cost between $170 million to $180 million.
Might as well go ahead and build the new jail there, too, since most of the crime in the county originates from Colony Ridge.
Seems the Judge is always there to help the illegal invaders.
Yes indeed, between the messcans and the coppers, crime will certainly be concentrated
They need a tax office there also so they quit flooding the Cleveland office. It is nearly impossible to pay your taxs or register your car in town anymore.
Last time I was at the Cleveland DPS office, some taco benders were in there trying to get a driver license. The staff had to bust out a picture chart of what documents they needed, and during the vision test portion, one dude just grunted at every line on the wall chart, clearly not understanding English. Probably has a lot to do with how many wrecks are now happening in the area.
Illegals and four way stops are very entertaining, though.
Wow!
What a perception of immigrants,
Where are you and your ancestors are from?. Just saying, sometimes you should keep your personal thoughts to yourself and try to help for a solution to today’s day issues caused from our leaders. You think they don’t know what people lives here. Thanks and don’t be too hard on yourself ‘ immigrant “.
Yeah there, Tony. Where my ancestors are from, they have respect for the land they immigrate to, respect for the laws of the country, and respect for their new neighbors. We assimilate, and be productive members of society. We don’t abuse the welfare system, skirt the tax system, and fill the streets with crime. We respect our neighborhood, and don’t blast jungle music at 3am. Pour through the county arrest records, and you will see the problem demographic. Keep your head in the sand, brother, or better yet- open your home to some of them and get back to us in a few months.
Ahh, the American Rescue Plan. Where money is taken from tax paying, law abiding citizens and pumped into an area that serves a large concentration of illegals, many who are sitting at home crapping out anchor babies for that sweet, sweet government assistance- all under the guise of “Covid relief”. Thanks, FJB!
What are the chances of getting some rescue money for the flooding Colony Ridge is causing to the surrounding communities.
So it sounds like Colony Ridge will continue to grow, what happened to Harris and all the investigations about how he conducts his business that was such a hot topic.
The damn liberty county sheriff said there wasn’t high crime levels in colony ridge. learn to read and do some research. You think that might be why your politicians went there and did nothing? They know they would be laughed out of court.