Van Zandt County Bond Election Motion Fails
Jail and Sheriff's Construction Project Re-Scheduled for Bond Election in November 2025
During the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court meeting today, discussions over a proposed bond election for a new jail and sheriff's office grew tense.
Commissioner Brandon Barton, Precinct 4, made a motion to set a bond election in May for a new jail and sheriff's office that would cost an estimated $145 million dollars. That motion was not well received by Commissioner Mitch Curtis, Precinct 1. Curtis stated he felt like someone needed to hit the breaks so more information could be gathered and provided to the Court and the citizens. He also said he didn't feel like Barton had done enough due diligence before making the motion. Curtis expressed many other concerns including whether the bond election would result in an increase in taxes and whether the County could afford the costs related to staffing and managing a new facility.
Barton and Curtis had a lengthy exchange that grew tense and somewhat argumentative, even ending with Curtis apologizing for "crossing the line" in his statements directed at Barton.
Judge Andy Reese joined in by expressing that he didn't believe the Court had received enough information on the project and questioning why a 350 bed jail was optimal versus a smaller 250 bed jail which could be less expensive. Barton responded by claiming that the Texas Commission on Jail Standards had recommended a minimum 288 bed jail. Currently, the Van Zandt County Jail has 144 beds and is consistently at full capacity according to Reese. Barton stated that if the County built a 250 bed jail as opposed to a 288 bed jail, as recommended by the Jail Commission, then the County would likely outgrow that jail by 2040 and have to ask for another bond election in the very near future to add onto it. Barton stated it didn't make sense to build a jail that would be outgrown quickly and would result in a higher cost to add onto it. He said it would be cheaper to build a 350 bed jail now than in the future.
Discussions finally drew to a close as Barton, Curtis, and Reese all agreed that it would be best to table the bond election motion until November so more information could be gathered and presented to the Commissioners Court. Commissioner Barton's Motion for a May Bond Election failed for lack of a second and the motion was then tabled to a later date prior to the November election.
Notably silent on the issue were Commissioner Cliff Williams (Precinct 2) and Commissioner Bobby Phillips (Precinct 3).
Check out the full discussion in the video at the 21:50-40:00 mark.
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