Published: July 29, 2008 04:49 pm         

JP and probation office moves discussed

Johnson County commissioners discussed relocating two county offices on Monday but reached no final decisions.

Commissioners hope to relocate the Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 and Johnson County Adult Probation offices. Both have outgrown their locations, commissioners said.

Plans call for moving the JP 1 court from the Johnson County Corrections Center to a building on land adjacent to the Guinn Justice Center. The building, known as the old band hall, sits on land recently purchased by the county from Cleburne ISD.

Commissioners hired Magee and Associates Architects on July 14 to develop plans for use of the old band hall as a JP court.

Magee President Allen Magee showed commissioners plans for the building Monday. The plans called for an addition to the building, however, which commissioners did not favor.

“What we had in mind was to take the existing building, and for the least cost possible, make it work,” County Judge Roger Harmon said. “We want to get [Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Judge Ronny] McBroom moved there as soon as possible. We also need a rough cost estimate from you.”

The building could hold a JP court without building an addition, Magee said. He said he could have new plans drawn by week’s end.

Commissioners also hired Magee to design a two-story building for use as an adult probation center. The center located in downtown Cleburne is overcrowded.

Commissioners also want to sell that property and put it back on the tax rolls. The location of the new building remains to be determined.

County-owned land near the Guinn Justice Center or the sheriff’s office appear to be the prime considerations. Plans for the building are forthcoming, Magee told commissioners.

Commissioners discussed possibly partially funding the salaries of school resource officers for several county schools. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office provides the officers used in Alvarado, Godley and Venus schools. A grant paid the salaries of the officers for three years, but it has since expired.

Commissioners expressed support for retaining the program and officers but said cost remains a factor. Commissioners disagreed as to what part of the cost, if any, the county should bear.

An interlocal agreement between the county and affected school districts remains to be drafted, and commissioners won’t vote on the final agreement until the school districts accept or reject them as proposed in the draft.

Commissioner John Matthews proposed that the county pay 20 percent of the salaries and the districts would pay the remaining 80 percent.

Matthews’ motion passed, but Commissioner Mark Carpenter voted against it.

“Let me be perfectly clear for the record,” Carpenter said. “I do not want to see the SRO officers leave the schools. They are very important to the schools and our county. But, we also have to be stewards of the taxpayer’s dollars.

“Instead of deciding what we want to pay, we need to meet with the districts and hammer out a deal. You go to them with what it’s going to cost to have SRO officers, see what they can contribute, and work it out.”

The proposed draft calls for SROs to report to the sheriff’s office for work during summer break and other school holidays.

It also restricts SRO hours to normal school hours. Any additional services, such as covering a football game or school dance, would have to be paid fully by the schools.

The draft, at Harmon’s request, would also ask schools to agree to hold the county without liability or include the county in their insurance policy.

Commissioners also agreed to hire Rosser Funeral Home in Cleburne to transport bodies to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office at the rate of $190 per body.

The county recently contracted with Tarrant County for M.E. services, but Tarrant does not provide transportation.

Commissioners also voted to cancel a contract with Weatherford Mortuary for the same services. That contract was meant as a temporary situation during the changeover from Johnson to Tarrant County M.E. services, commissioners said.

“There’s been problems with response times,” Commissioner Don Beeson said. “With one to two hour waits. It’s just not good for the families, or for the police who have to remain on scene and keep the roads closed. I think they just got overextended.”

The Rosser contract requires arrival within one hour of notification.

“With Rosser, we’re the only county they’ll be contracted with,” said Tobey Hamrick, Johnson County M.E. investigator. “With [Weatherford Mortuary], we’re the fourth county they have.”

Two properties will be put out to bid again.

The first is a building on 1601 N. Anglin, which used to house Johnson County Meals-on-Wheels.

The building, not the land, will be bid out with all offers considered. The buyer must remove the building to another location.

A strip of county-owned land near The Retreat is also being offered for bid again, with all offers considered.

     

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.