County sets Bullard meet
Judge, commissioners to hold town-hall forum
By Lori Mellinger editor@bullardnews.com

While the item was on the agenda for Commissioner's Court to change the format of Bullard's town meeting was not passed, Precinct 1 Commissioner JoAnn Fleming is fine with the compromise agreed upon Monday.

The Bullard meeting, set for 6 p.m. Thursday, allows the public to hear - but not ask questions - the presentation for the proposed $125 million jail project to be voted on Nov. 6.

"I'm happy with the compromise, " Fleming said. "The other commissioners and the judge felt that to change it specifically for the Bullard meeting wouldn't be fair, so we've set an additional meeting for all Smith County voters."

The extra meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22, at commissioner's court in the Smith County Annex Building.

"This opens up the dialogue so voters will be heard by their local officials," she said. "Questions will be asked and answered."

But anyone attending the Bullard meeting may, according to Baker, submit questions in writing or ask them one on one after the slide and video presentation made by Jeff Bradley of HDR Architecture.

In the meeting held in Whitehouse two weeks ago, those in attendance were asked to vote on their favorite rendering with Post-It notes provided by the court.

Bradley took the audience through the phases planned out to complete the Smith County Justice Complex, which, at this time, would include a jail tower, a low-risk facility and a law enforcement building.

The plan allows for using several pieces of property already owned by the county, but it now includes the Region's Bank building.

During Bradley's description of the proposed 1,104-bed jail, Smith County Auditor Ann Wilson explained the cost of operating this facility.

With a larger jail, she said, the county would be able to house its own inmates and take on those of other counties. She estimated a net profit of $250,000 per year.

Bradley said there is urgency to the issue.

"Not only is the county paying out an average of $41 per day for each inmate housed in other counties, but the cost of construction rises $8 to $12 million for each year the county waits to build," she said.

But Fleming maintains the project - which ballooned to the current now-$125 million project isn't necessarily sound.

She was the lone vote against the final proposal.

"This is the people's business," Fleming said. "The least important people in the equation are the elected officials, yet they are the only ones who seem to have a voice.

"We need to take the time to hear what they have to say and answer their questions publicly."

Fleming is also concerned about the many incarnations of the plan.

"The project has changed from week to week - changing the parking deck, etc. Instead of lowering cost of project, now we have courtrooms adding to project," she said. "That's a departure from the original mission."

Fleming said the overall jail plan is deviating further and further from the master plan devised by consultants Carter Goble Lee Inc.

"The master plan clearly emphasizes the value of a consolidated, integrated criminal justice system," she said. "It is most efficient to have courts together with their support services - district clerk, county clerk, district attorney, sheriff's office - rather than separated.

"This is a conservative community and by the time officials hang a price tag on a project and call a bond election, the community wants to know exactly what they are being asked to pay for," Fleming said.

Voting on the proposed jail bond package is set for Nov. 6 with early voting beginning on Oct. 22.

Town Hall Meeting

Anyone interested in hearing about the proposed Smith County Justice Center may do so at a special meeting set for 6 p.m. Thursday at Bullard City Hall.