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Local precinct chair urges jail bond to cut out-of-county prisoner transports
Summary
Kelton Gunter, precinct chair for Precinct 205, urged the court to pursue a law-and-order bond to expand local incarceration capacity, arguing the county currently spends millions transporting prisoners out of county and voters would support a targeted bond.
During the capital-and-noncapital agenda item, the court recognized Kelton Gunter for public comment. Kelton introduced himself as Kelton Gunter, a Precinct 205 Republican Party precinct chair, and told the court that his perception of Parker County is that it is a 'law and order' county with strong judges and prosecutorial leadership. He urged the court to consider a bond measure to expand jail capacity locally, saying voters would likely back the proposal even if it meant higher taxes.
"If we're spending a couple of million bucks to transport prisoners out of the county because we can't house them, that's probably not a good place to spend our money," Gunter said, and asked commissioners to give serious consideration to a bond that would reduce transport costs and keep detention local. The court heard the comment and acknowledged it during budget discussions; staff later referenced the Justice Center/Jail study rollover as part of ongoing capital planning.
