Environmental study to pave way for Llano County criminal justice center
The Llano County Commissioners Court approved a $10,000 environmental study that could greenlight about $4.8 million in federal funds to build a criminal justice center.
“(The project) is still in its preliminary stages,” Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham told DailyTrib.com. “If all the stars fell in line and we were able to move forward, we’re still looking at 2025 before we get anything going.”
The county applied for a grant through U.S. Rep. August Pfluger’s office in 2023, Cunningham said. The grant would bring in millions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build the justice center, which the judge said is badly needed.
“The challenge that we have is that we balance this (Llano County Courthouse) between two district judges, a family court judge, and a county court judge,” he said.
The proposed center would house offices for local and visiting judges and the district attorney and provide a second courtroom for Llano County, which would allow more sessions in less time.
The $10,000 environmental study will be conducted by Riley Mountain Engineering, the firm handling the building and design of the criminal justice center.
“(The study) is really procedural; we just need to document if there are any threatened or endangered species, any potential impacts of cultural or historical resources, any historical artifacts, that type of stuff, and impacts to water,” subcontractor Greg Wine said during a July 8 meeting of the Llano County Commissioners Court. “This should be fairly routine.”
The proposed center would be on the same property as the Llano County Sheriff’s Office at 2001 Texas 16 North in Llano.
The Commissioners Court unanimously approved moving forward with the study.
According to Judge Cunningham, the court began seriously looking at building a justice center in 2022 when Riley Mountain Engineering was brought on board to start developing plans for its construction.
“Before we can do anything, we need that environmental study,” Cunningham said. “It’s been a long time coming.”