Smith County discusses bond proposal for courthouse, decades-long plan
Published 6:00 pm Monday, August 1, 2022
- This floorplan shows how circulation would work on the court floors of a new Smith County Courthouse.
A new Smith County courthouse has been in talks for more than two decades, and the time to consider it could finally be coming soon.
Smith County Commissioners met Monday for a special-called meeting to discuss the new courthouse proposal and the recommendation to call a bond election this November.
A number of community leaders feel now is the right time to bring the courthouse plans to fruition, but ultimately it is up to the citizens, said Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran.
“The citizens of Smith County should have the opportunity to make this decision and determine the future of their courthouse,” Moran said. “It’s their money and their courthouse.”
At the meeting, 15 residents spoke in favor of the bond election and one person recommended putting the project on hold.
Moran said the purpose of the meeting was to allow those who are interested in the topic to voice their thoughts and see a presentation about the planning process.
“We want to take really the last 23 years, and more importantly the last three years, of what we’ve been doing from a planning process standpoint, wrap it all up together, summarize a lot of it and get final questions answered before we ask the court to make final decisions next week,” Moran said.
During next week’s commissioners court meeting, the court will vote on putting the courthouse and associated parking structure on the November ballot. The last day to call a bond election is Aug. 22.
Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said part of his duties are the safety and security of citizens and employees at the courthouse. At this point, the current courthouse is not as safe or as big as it should be, he said.
“This courthouse wasn’t built to have the number of courts we have now, then we’re getting the new 475th court so that’s another issue,” Smith said. “It wasn’t built for the security.”
He added that in his time as sheriff, he has witnessed at least two times that a mistrial was called due to the close quarters of the jurors, defendants and others.
Michael Hurley, president-elect of Historic Tyler, said he used to be indifferent toward getting a new courthouse until he participated in jury duty.
The jury deliberation space was too small with no air conditioning, forcing the jury to have a “very serious conversation in a very uncomfortable room.” On top of this, they would also pass by the family, attorneys and others involved in the court.
“‘I’m 100% for the courthouse because while our history is vital and we need to do everything we can to preserve it, sometimes the safety of our citizens and the fairness of those who are on trial should come first even before that,” Hurley said.
The current courthouse, which has been in use for 64 years, has been the longest used Smith County courthouse, Moran said, and plans to replace it have been in the making for 23 years now.
“I want to make sure folks know this is not a spur of the moment decision, this is something we came to over a long period of time,” he said.
The six-story facility was constructed to house two district courts, two justice of the peace courts, the jail and various county offices, according to the county. The courthouse currently houses four district courts, three county courts-at-law, the district clerk’s Office, the district attorney’s office, the Smith County Law Library and court staff.
MORE INFORMATION: Jan. 28, 2000 Smith County Courthouse Needs and Assessment Master Plan
As the commissioners court, Moran said when it comes to county facilities, it is their duty to manage and maintain current facilities, plan for future facility needs and be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.
The most recent study on the current courthouse was from 2017 to 2019.
Each time a new study was done on the current facility one thing was always the same: a new courthouse was needed. Other things that were mentioned in the studies were the need for a jail expansion, sheriff’s office and parking. Jail and sheriff’s office facilities have already been completed.
The current plan for the new potential courthouse is for it to go on the east side of the downtown square in between the Courthouse Annex and Smith County Jail. The county has been purchasing properties in the area and have bought five of the 11 properties in two years, Moran said.
With the help of Fitzpatrick Architects, the exterior design of the planned courthouse will pay tribute to the historic 1910 courthouse.
“We wanted to design a courthouse reflective of this community’s history, reflective of this community’s present values and what we value going forward,” Moran said.
The new courthouse would also address spacing and security issues that are present in the current facility. Moran said that county courthouse was built for only two trial courtrooms and now has seven trial courts and an auxiliary court.
“We want to design a courthouse that is built for growth and logistical needs going way out,” Moran said. “The one we’ve designed will accommodate logistical needs within the courthouse and growth for about 75 years at least.”
With safety in mind the new courthouse was designed with the court floors being the main focus. There will be three corridors – separate ones for the public, those in custody and the judge and staff – to ensure no paths cross that shouldn’t.
In total, the plans include three court floors with 12 trial courtrooms. Currently nine of the courtrooms will be used leaving extras for growth.
The estimated cost of a new courthouse is $160 million and an additional $19 million for a parking structure. The tax impact is estimated to be around 3.67 cents which would equate to $73.40 per year for a $200,000 home, according to the county.
Those interested in seeing Moran’s full presentation on the courthouse can watch it at www.bit.ly/courthouseplans .
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