Smith County to host input meetings for possible new courthouse

Published 5:00 pm Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Smith County seal

Smith County officials will host a series of meetings to gather input from residents about the prospect of building a new courthouse. The meetings will take place in each of the county’s four precincts in November.

Before a plan is presented to voters, county officials want to gather input to determine whether the public agrees that a new courthouse is needed, where it should be built, what factors for consideration are most important and to answer any questions or listen to any comments residents may have.



The first of four meetings will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Nov. 4 at the Lindale High School Cafeteria, 920 E. Hubbard St. This area is represented by Precinct 3 Commissioner Terry Phillips.

The Precinct 2 meeting will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 at First Baptist Church Whitehouse, 801 E. Main St. in Whitehouse. Precinct 2 is represented by Commissioner Cary Nix.

The Precinct 1 meeting, represented by Jeff Warr, will take place from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. on November 12 at Bullard City Hall, 114 S. Phillips St. in Bullard.

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Precinct 4 Commissioner JoAnn Hampton will host a meeting for her precinct from 6 to 7 p.m. on Nov. 18 at St. Louis Baptist Church, 4000 Frankston Highway in Tyler.

Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran has said the intended timeline is to present an initial plan for a new courthouse in the spring of 2020, hold additional public meetings throughout the summer of 2020, to ensure the citizens have full and accurate information, and to call for a vote on a proposed plan for the November 2020 election.

The county also has created a new webpage which outlines the county’s intentions, includes courthouse studies conducted over the past 20 years and has a Citizen Input Survey.

County officials are asking residents to fill out a brief survey, which can be found at https://www.smith-county.com/online-services/online-county-services/court-house-planning.

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