Ellis County reviews $10M bond plan to fund law-enforcement remodel, courthouse HVAC and facilities upgrades

County commissioners on Nov. 18 reviewed detailed plans and cost estimates for a package of building projects and agreed to move forward with bond planning and financial outreach rather than immediately authorizing a bond sale.

Staff presented a prioritized list of projects centered on renovating the law-enforcement center (LEC) and improving the courthouse’s failing HVAC system, along with lower-cost projects such as transfer-station repairs, a proposed EMS facility in Ellis and a fire-storage building. Darren Myers, who led the presentation, said staff would pursue a bond sale in early 2026 if the commission endorses the plan, and emphasized that the county’s approach is “to fund these projects without impacting property taxes.”

Why it matters: County buildings that house critical public safety and judicial functions are approaching end of life in several systems. Commissioners were particularly attentive to the risk of courthouse HVAC failure in winter — staff warned that a prolonged outage could force court closures and substantial disruption to trials and juries.

What staff proposed and the trade-offs - Law-enforcement center: Staff showed plans to move the dispatch center into a larger basement training room (roughly doubling the space), add offices, evidence storage and an improved front-desk layout. The presentation described a design-build approach for the LEC and an estimated project cost in the…