Henderson County Judge Daniels and the commissioner's court voted unanimously on a court order Friday to place a question on a special election ballot on Dec. 4, 2025, asking residents in the Cedar Creek Hospital District whether to dissolve the district.

The vote calls a county-ordered election for residents inside the district boundary and directs elections staff to create the district overlay in the voter system so the measure can appear on the December ballot.

The question matters because the district was created in 1973 to pursue a local hospital and later went dormant; the court said a prior 1999 legislative dissolution effort never was completed locally. Judge Daniels told the court there is “a sum of money in place that in statute is directed to be sent to Trinity Valley Community College to be the endowment for a nursing scholarship program in the name of Andrew Gibbs.” He estimated about $35,000 remains in the district fund and said the county must call the election to allow residents to vote on dissolution.

During the discussion, Judge Daniels explained the district’s boundary and administrative work required to add the overlay in the elections system. He said the district map covers all of Maybank ISD and parts of Kemp, Malakoff and Eustace ISDs and that elections staff could complete the address updates on short notice. The judge stressed the dissolution question would appear only to voters residing inside the affected district.

Commissioners asked whether the county would run an information campaign about the measure. Judge Daniels said the county had no formal education program planned and that community groups are welcome to provide voter information. He clarified the dissolution has no relationship to the UT hospital in Gun Barrel, saying, “this predates all of that activity.”

Motion and outcome: Commissioner Tooley moved and Commissioner Spivey seconded a motion to approve the order of special election for the dissolution of the Cedar Creek Hospital District. The motion passed unanimously.

Next steps: If voters approve dissolution on Dec. 4, the court said it will take subsequent administrative steps required by statute to transfer remaining funds and close the district.