SPI Insights

A feasibility study will be released soon to assist the Chambers County Commissioners Court in deciding whether to choose a public-private partnership (P3) or a bond referendum for a justice complex. The county, in 2022, looked at publishing a solicitation for a P3 for the complex. The 200,000-square-foot facility would include a 300-bed jail, law enforcement center, courthouse and emergency operations center. County Commissioners began the process of a new justice complex in December 2015 with an appointed advisory committee made up of residents from the county.

Chambers County Courthouse. Courtesy of Chambers County

The project has been delayed multiple times over the years and costs to build the complex have risen to approximately $135 million. The decision is still undecided on whether a P3 or a November bond referendum is the most feasible.

The Texas Commission of Jail Standards issued a notice in 2022 that the jail must be brought up to compliance within three years or face penalties. If the county jail is not up to code, it could face thousands of dollars in fines a day until the standards are met. The county is currently spending more than six figures a year housing inmates in other county jails.