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Commissioners discuss converting old tax office and preserving 4th‑floor courtroom for visiting judges and juvenile matters
Summary
Workshop participants reviewed the footprint of the old tax office and adjacent courtroom (the '4th‑floor' area), discussed options to convert open tax‑office space into offices for juvenile probation and the district attorney, and recommended concept drawings and stakeholder input before any build‑out.
Coryell County commissioners and staff reviewed the county’s old tax office and an adjacent courtroom area — referred to in the workshop as the 4th‑floor space — and discussed converting open tax‑office space into offices and support areas for juvenile probation and other court functions.
Commissioner Richard Matthews opened the workshop topic by describing the tax‑office footprint and saying the large open tax‑office area could be configured into roughly six private offices without structural changes. County participants discussed which agency currently occupies portions of the footprint (the district attorney’s office, victim services and juvenile probation were all mentioned during the review), and staff explained that many interior partitions were non‑load‑bearing, creating a “blank slate” for reconfiguration.
Participants raised operational considerations. Several officials said the 4th‑floor courtroom serves visiting judges, CPS and AG matters and can be used for grand jury work on occasion but noted that the courtroom lacks convenient adjacent jury facilities, dedicated restrooms for jurors and sufficient administrative space to fully function as a long‑term jury trial courtroom. County staff and court members said that if the space is preserved as a courtroom it should retain some administrative support and copying access to remain functional for visiting judges and CPS proceedings.
Juvenile‑probation staff (identified in the discussion as a stakeholder) said their immediate needs included an office suite with a conference room, file storage and a lobby. Court members suggested creating a conceptual “blank‑slate” footprint for the tax‑office area, then having a draftsman or architect prepare drawings for stakeholder review; participants said an initial layout could be produced with modest expense and iterated as needed.
The court did not take formal action to change occupancy. Instead, members directed staff to develop conceptual layout drawings, consult with impacted stakeholders (juvenile probation, the district attorney’s office, victim services and visiting court personnel) and then return with refined options and cost estimates.
