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Bexar County has heard two reports on its jail in the past two months from outside consultants.
The firm, American Correctional Consultants, presented its recommendations on Tuesday — ranging from physical infrastructure to staffing.
The jail has more than 200 open positions, causing a surge in additional turnover and forced overtime. The county shelled out more than $10 million last year in additional pay for jailers.
Precinct 2 County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez told Sheriff Javier Salazar the time to address the problems is now. He said he knows the sheriff shares the same sense of urgency.
“I think not only are their lives at stake, but I think there’s a fiscal breaking point that we’re going to get to what we just can’t simply afford millions and millions of dollars of overtime … so we look forward to you coming back with some concrete strategies,” he said.
Both studies of the jail’s issues were long overdue and missed the window for the regular budget cycle. The union representing detention workers has repeatedly said the delay was intentional.
In other action, commissioners directed staff to proceed with plans for an $8 million makeover of the county annex building on West Nueva in downtown San Antonio.
Commissioners directed County Facilities Manager Dan Curry to proceed with plans to redevelop the 70-year-old annex to house county workers in need of more space, such as the district attorney, public defender, county courts, specialty courts, county clerk, and preventative health.
The annex discussion also prompted debate over the need for a study into all of the county’s long term office needs.
Commissioner Tommy Calvert encouraged Curry to think big when it comes to county office needs. The commissioner mentioned his visit to Seattle where county government is housed in one 51-story building.
“You’re preaching to the choir,” Curry told Calvert. “Harris County has a 22-story building just for the DA’s office … and so, the Paul Elizondo Tower may eventually be the DA’s Tower.”
The annex project is in the design phase. Commissioners ditched talk of tearing down the building and replacing it with a pocket park because the county is in dire need of office space. Final project costs for the annex are to be included in the next county budget.
Curry pledged to work with the University of Texas at San Antonio and the Casa Navarro Historic Site on an annex design, which would be complimentary in form and function to them.
Officials with the Casa Navarro previously expressed their desires for a pocket park. The tiny state park that celebrates the life of native Texas Declaration signer and Tejano rights advocate Jose Antonio Navarro.
The rancher-merchant’s 1850s adobe home site is already in the shadow of a new federal courthouse across West Nueva Street, and some new UTSA buildings will also dominate the area, which is a national landmark too.
Construction on the multi-story UTSA Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Careers building, to be located between West Nueva and Dolorosa Streets, begins next summer. UTSA’s new School of Data Sciences will open for classes this spring semester. It is also located between West Nueva and Dolorosa Streets.
Commissioners also approved and tweaked allocation of more than $40 million of federal COVID-19 relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to help schools, businesses, and others continue their recovery from the pandemic.
A $20 million agreement with LiftFund will help small businesses and non-profit organizations.
The millions of dollars to schools will pay for mental health services for students and their families. About $8 million is going to Lifetime Recovery as substance abuse rose during the pandemic.
About $5 million has been earmarked for arts organizations and individual artists. Commissioners placed a $300,000 cap on relief to arts organizations.
The biggest arts benefactors also happen to be the biggest arts orgainizations, including the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, Witte Museum, San Antonio Museum of Art, the McNay Museum, the DoSeum, and the Briscoe Western Art Museum.
The arts allocations will be spread out through September 2026.