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Duncanville staff outline $35M planning range for police-and-courts facility, urge more vetting before bond
Summary
City officials presented a needs assessment showing a wide cost range for a new police-and-courts facility and recommended delaying any bond election until November to refine scope, pursue grants, and model debt repayment; staff proposed a planning range up to about $35 million with options for phasing.
Duncanville city staff on Feb. 3 presented a needs assessment and preliminary financing plan for a proposed police-and-courts facility, recommending the council delay a bond referendum to November while the project team refines costs, pursues grant opportunities and examines debt-structure options.
Interim City Manager Richard Abernathy summarized the work done since a 2025 bond‑committee recommendation and said consultants found the earlier $12 million allowance would not cover the scope identified in the assessment. “I think the recommendation would be… a planning range up to about $35,000,000,” Abernathy said, adding the range includes scope, phasing and potential unknowns.
Budget Administrator Jennifer Ody walked through the 10‑year capital improvement program and explained how a large facility would affect debt capacity and other projects. She told council an $68 million facility would significantly push other CIP projects to the right and increase the debt portion of the tax rate, and that staff sees options to scale or phase the work.
Officials urged additional vetting before asking voters to approve new debt. Abernathy recommended bringing financial advisors and the consultant (Kimley Horn) back to refine the cost estimate, identify grants and alternate funding sources and model repayment structures. He also proposed visiting comparable municipalities to study operating and construction choices that could reduce costs.
Council members pressed staff about what grants might be available and whether a smaller footprint could meet the department’s needs. Staff said Kimley Horn could assist in grant identification and added that some departmental staffing recommendations from the matrix report were not yet included in the five‑year forecasts and would affect future operating budgets.
Next steps: staff will provide a tighter timeline and milestone list for a November ballot, run debt‑service scenarios with outside advisors, verify all anticipated relocation and renovation costs and continue outreach to potential grant sources. The council did not vote on a bond resolution at the meeting.
