For many, the emotions have more to do with a voting booth than the drama of what occurs in the building's courtrooms.
Just over six years ago, Bell County residents voted down a $61 million bond issue, yet everything in that proposal and more is now located on 76 acres off Loop 121.
Critics of the project claim county commissioners ignored the voice of the people and built the complex of buildings. Some feel a trust was breached.
"Most of the democratic principles I had emphasized in my home and at school were effectively neutered by elected officials, and I'm not alone in thinking that," local attorney John Galligan said.
Galligan, who has referred to the building as the Taj Mahal, was and continues to be one of the most outspoken critics of the project.
"It's a civic lesson about your right to vote and the power of a vote in Bell County, and it's a sad story," Galligan said.
The Bell County Commissioners Court would agree with Galligan that the building could provide an appropriate introduction for a civics lesson, but the lesson commissioners would teach would be markedly different.
Within a year of the initial bond election failure, commissioners approached the public again with a scaled down $46 million bond proposal, which was also voted down.
Commissioners found themselves at a crossroads.
The jail population continued to increase. Bell County Judge Jon Burrows said that if the county had not built a new jail, in a few years it would be paying other counties so much to house prisoners the cost would be more than the amount to finance the new jail.
"At some point, you've got to do it," Burrows said.
In addition, the district courts building and district attorney offices downtown were inadequate, Burrows said.
With the future in mind, commissioners secured limited tax notes to pay for the buildings. Limited tax notes must be approved by the attorney general but not by the public.
Commissioner Tim Brown, Precinct 2, said this funding strategy was not a bull-headed move by commissioners acting indifferently to voters. Instead, he said it was necessary and logical next step in order to perform the duties for which they were voted into office.
"County governments are required by law to provide jail facilities, and facilities for other county offices as enumerated in the Texas Constitution," Brown said. "In undertaking these projects our officials (were) only doing what they are required by law to do. These requirements are not contingent on political support. In other words, these responsibilities exist regardless of the sentiments of voters."
The county-courts-at-law addition marks the final phase of the project, which overall is slated to cost about $10 million more than when it was originally proposed. The extra $10 million price tag has led some to playfully dub Galligan the $10 million man for his efforts in squashing the project.
"Anybody that tries to pin that solely on me overlooks the hundreds that went to the polls," Galligan said.
The new addition includes space for the county attorney, county clerk and three county courts-at-law. In addition, there are two additional courtrooms available for future expansion.
Relocating those offices will open up offices at the annex on Second Street in Belton where adult and juvenile probation will expand, tax assessor-collector will be moved and possibly a new state-mandated drug court will be established.
The county pays $40,943 annually to rent space for the tax assessor-collector at the Tax Appraisal District Building on Central Avenue in Belton.
Although one local attorney joked that the district courts wing looks like an airport terminal, most attorneys have expressed satisfaction with the new building.
"I think it's a great idea, very timely and appropriate," Ed Brown, Belton defense attorney, said. "Bell County has come into the 21st century."
Mike Magana, the only attorney so far to relocate near the justice center, said the location would speed things up for prosecutors, defense attorneys and the courts.
"I think it's a great centralized location, accessible right off the highway," Magana said. "It's a heck of a lot better than what we had downtown. And it could not have been placed in downtown Belton."
A secure walkway from the jail to the courts will cut down on transportation of inmates, officials said. In addition, the move will provide a secure entrance into all courts, something lacking at the county courts-at-law right now in the annex building.
When the project is complete it will have ample parking.
Burrows points out that in addition to being more convenient for attorneys, combining the court locations will decrease confusion the public sometimes has trying to navigate through the judicial system.
Galligan said he finds it ironic that when he walks into the old jail annex on Central Avenue, he sees a plaque with the words "built by the people of Bell County" written on it.
"It's noticeably absent at the new courthouse," Galligan said.
Although the justice center was built against the wishes of Bell County voters, none of the commissioners have paid the ultimate price in pushing forward with the project. Each has been reelected at least once since the initial bond vote.
Burrows was also reelected as county judge, beating out Galligan by a two to one margin.
Promer@temple-telegram.com
