A rendering shows the planned Smith County Courthouse and parking garage. (Contributed Photo)

Results of Tuesday’s election show Smith County voters want to see a new courthouse built in downtown Tyler.

Residents took to the polls to determine the fate of the current 1955 courthouse along with casting their ballots for several other federal, state and local races. 

Unofficial results show 53.7% of voters want to see a safer, more secure structure built while 46.3% were against the measure. With the approval, the current courthouse will be demolished and replaced with a new facility and an accompanying parking structure.

The courthouse and associated parking structure bond package totals $179 million. The estimated tax impact will be about 3.67 cents, or an increase of about $73.40 per year on a $200,000 home.

The current structure was originally intended to house two courtrooms. Today, there are seven courtrooms, not including the incoming 475th District Court that will begin operating in January.

‘Our citizens have spoken’

“The key to this process has been and will remain community input and community decision-making,” said County Judge Nathaniel Moran said on Tuesday night. “Any final decision on the courthouse belonged to the taxpayers. As a commissioners court, we are ever-mindful that every tax dollar belongs to the citizens. So, this is why we wanted to make sure it was the citizens who had the final say on whether or not they wanted to construct and pay for a replacement courthouse.

Moran said regardless of whether the bond was going to pass or fail, he would have been satisfied that the court did its duty to identify the problem, work with the public to strategically plan for a long-term, value-based solution, and then provide the public an opportunity to vote on it.

Pct. 1 Commissioner and County Judge-Elect Neal Franklin said their duty as members of the court is to identify issues and come up with potential solutions.

“I firmly believe that allowing the residents of Smith County the opportunity to vote on a major project like a new courthouse was the correct path to take,” he said on Tuesday night. “Our citizens have spoken and we are excited to move forward with the construction of this well-needed justice facility.”

Officials and community members have had discussions for decades about the state of the current courthouse, all coming to the same conclusion that the current structure has space and safety issues. Among the concerns were judges, jurors, the public and people in custody crossing paths in the same courthouse corridors. A shooting at the courthouse in 2005 spurred more safety concerns and prompted several solutions, but none were practical for the long-term, according to current Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran.

A few years ago, commissioners considered a similar bond referendum, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, officials decided the time wasn’t right, Franklin said.

Pct. 2 Commissioner Cary Nix said voters’ approval means the courthouse will accommodate growth for the next 75 years and will be “a beacon for our downtown area.

“The safety and wellbeing of our employees, jurors, judges and the judicial process is paramount,” Nix said.

Pct. 3 Commissioner Terry Phillips was not in favor of putting the measure on the ballot at this time, but he always agreed a new structure was needed.

“Now that the voters have told us they want a new courthouse, I will work diligently to see that the courthouse is built in a financially responsible way,” Phillips said on Tuesday night.

Pct. 4 Commissioner JoAnn Hampton thanked the citizens of Smith County for seeing the need for a new courthouse.

“We will continue to be fiscally responsible and we realize these are taxpayer dollars that are being spent,” she said.

The voting totals will become official once they are canvassed.

What’s next?

The new courthouse will be constructed on the east side of the downtown Tyler square along Spring Street and in between the Smith County Courthouse Annex and Smith County Jail.

Moran said the county listened to constituents when it came to choosing the new courthouse’s location. Building the structure in this area will keep Broadway Avenue open to traffic, is a lower cost option, will prevent intrusion into businesses around the square and allow materials to be staged further to the east and out of the way.

Those working in the current courthouse will be able to continue work as normal and the county’s judicial process will not be interrupted. When the new structure is complete, they can pick up and move into the new facility with no interruptions, Moran said.

The county has already acquired a majority of the property in that area, according to Moran.

It will take around six to eight months to finalize plans and designs, Moran previously said. The parking structure will be constructed first. The anticipated start of courthouse construction is the end of 2023.

Results of other local races

District 6 State Representative

State Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, came out victorious in Tuesday’s election and will continue serving the constituents of District 6.

Schaefer secured 73.3% of the vote while his competitor Democrat Cody Grace received 26.7%.

“I am honored and grateful to get to serve the people of East Texas in the Texas House,” said Schaefer, who was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2012.

Schaefer previously told the Tyler Morning Telegraph that in his years of service, he has had great success by bringing programs such as plumbing to high schools; constitutional carry legislation; “protecting innocent life in the womb,” and more.

He looks to continue supporting the second amendment, promoting “pro-life culture” in Texas and lowering property taxes.

Grace, a small-business owner who has lived in the Tyler area his whole life, felt he was ready to serve the district but did not look at Tuesday’s results as a loss. To receive nearly 30% of the vote should be considered a huge success, he said, and he feels positive about the future.

He previously told the Morning Telegraph he is not a politician and got involved in politics around 10 years ago after the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut. Grace wanted to be a part of making a difference and actually take action on issues like gun violence.

Smith County Justice of the Peace Pct. 4

Republican Curtis Wulf and Democrat Randy Hawkins were on the ballot for Smith County Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace. After all election reports had been filed by the county elections office, Wulf maintained his commanding lead, securing the position with 71.6% of the votes, compared to Hawkins’ 28.4%.

Wulf has been involved with the court system for the last two decades. He began his career in law enforcement in 2003 when he held the positions of patrol officer, patrol sergeant and lead felony investigator. For the past two years, he has been working alongside his wife at her law firm where he handles civil and criminal cases.

Hawkins has lived in the county for 58 years and has served in numerous leadership roles such as being a teacher at Forest Park Middle School in Longview, the pastor at Fredonia Baptist Church in Kilgore and serving on the Winona ISD school board for the past 13 years. He has also been a youth pastor, served on numerous community improvement projects, had a role in youth sports organizations and held several management positions at Carrier Global, Trane Technologies, Tyler ISD operations and the UT Health Center.

Smith County Justice of the Peace Pct. 3

Republican James L. Meredith held the lead, securing a win over Democratic candidate Democrat Dustin G. Stephens. Unofficial results showed 80.3% of votes for Meredith and 19.7% of votes for Stephens.

Meredith has been serving as Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace for around 19 years. He said it is important to him to be “fair and available” to the community and accessible to those who need him.

Smith County Emergency Services District No. 2, District 5 Commissioner

Scotty Thornton secured the position as Smith County Emergency Services District No. 2, District 5 Commissioner on Tuesday, with 67% of the votes. His opponent, Hunter Rath, received 33%.

Overton City Council, Place 4

The race between Richard Howell Jr. and A.G. “Tuck” Moon was extremely close, as Moon received 24 total votes while Howell finished with 22 votes.

Winona ISD

Winona ISD had three propositions on the ballot. 

Unofficial results for Proposition A showed 50.80% of voters for it and 49.20% against. This proposition was a $13.4 million bond for constructing, renovating, acquiring and equipping school buildings in the district. It was also for acquiring sites for school buildings and levying taxes in payment thereof.

Unofficial results for Proposition B showed 41.67% of voters for it and 58.33% against. This proposition was a $6.5 million bond for constructing, renovating, acquiring and equipping stadium improvements in the district and levying taxes in payment thereof.

Unofficial results for Proposition C showed 39.92% of voters for it and 60.08% against. This proposition was a $3.6 million bond for constructing, renovating, acquiring and equipping a game fieldhouse at the stadium and levying taxes in payment thereof.

Whitehouse ISD

Whitehouse ISD had one bond proposition on the ballot. Unofficial results showed 45.84% of voters for the proposal and 54.16% against it.

The proposition was to ratify the ad valorem tax rate of $1.1526 per $100 valuation in Whitehouse ISD for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of 6.4502 percent in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the district for the current year as compared to the preceding year, which is an additional $1,487,771.