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Commissioner presses legal concerns over 10-year term, missing clauses in DPS draft agreement
Summary
A commissioner urged caution over a draft interlocal agreement with DPS, listing missing standard contract clauses (cancellation, venue, dispute resolution), potential liability, and risks to records; the court conditioned any physical move on finalizing a written agreement.
A member of the Hood County Commissioners Court on July 24 urged the court not to approve a space swap with the Texas Department of Public Safety until the interlocal agreement includes standard protective clauses.
"There's no cancellation clause... I'm not sure we're allowed to bind the county for 10 years with no cancellation," the commissioner said, listing missing items including a venue clause, conflict-resolution language, defined renovation scope, and explicit exhibits for ADA compliance. The commissioner warned that acting without those terms could expose the county and taxpayers to legal risk.
The court responded by amending the motion: it granted conceptual approval for DPS to occupy the Acton Annex only if negotiators produce a mutually acceptable contract. Commissioners also requested that the county's risk-management and property-insurance questions be addressed before any final action.
Separately, the court discussed records management for the Development Department given ongoing lawsuits. The court directed an inventory and supervised transfer, saying records subject to discovery must be handled in a way that preserves chain of custody.
