COLLEGE STATION, Texas — A new center for Precinct 1 and Justice of the Peace in College Station took a step forward today with a ceremonial groundbreaking. The project on William D. Fitch Parkway comes with a nearly two-million-dollar price tag.
This new facility has been long-awaited by Precinct One and Justice of the Peace for nearly a decade.
“When I became a commissioner a little over five years ago, it’s one of the things we worked on finding an actual site and location, but now that we found this one, we were able to move much more quickly,” said Steve Aldrich, commissioner, Brazos County Precinct 1.
Justice of the Peace, Brazos County Precinct 1 Kenny Elliott says it was all about finding a location for them to fully operate.
“We were in a shopping center, both the constable’s office and the JP’s office,” said Elliot. “We didn’t have adequate parking. We didn’t have an adequate courtroom, adequate space, so this is going to be a big move for us.”
Commissioner Aldrich says it may be long overdue, but with this groundbreaking, it’s finally happening.
“Their offices are going to have a staffed facility that’s comparable to what the other precincts in Brazos County have,” said Aldrich. “It’s been a long time coming. It’s overdue but it’s happening and I’m happy about it.”
Constable Jeff Reeves has been serving for 12 years and says he is happy to see this new facility come to fruition.
“I’ve been in this office now 12 years and they’ve been talking about building this office now for 10 years,” said Reeves. “I can tell you, we’re the only entity in Brazos County that hasn’t had its own dwelling built by the county. We’ve been renting for years.”
With not the best work conditions, Constable Reeves was still hopeful for a new facility.
“When it rains outside, we know it because it rains inside of our building,” said Reeves. “The building we were in had just as many mice as it did cockroaches. It’s been a long time coming.”
With their current office being in a shopping plaza, Commissioner Aldrich says they needed a space to be able to properly operate.
“It’s not conducive to doing jury trials because of parking,” said Aldrich. “It’s not conducive to being able to operate like the other precincts are.”
JP Elliott agrees this new facility will be a big move for the constable’s and JP’s office.
“We didn’t have adequate parking,” said Elliott. “We didn’t have an adequate courtroom, adequate space, so this is going to be a big move for us.”
Reeves says the moment has finally come and wouldn’t be possible without the community.
“It’s been frustrating at times, but I always heard they were going to build us a new building,” he said. “We’ve talked about it. We looked at plans over 10 years ago. We’re finally here. We’re so happy to be getting it and we’re very thankful to the citizens of Brazos County, which are second to none.
With no more renting out buildings, Reeves and staff say this building is more than just a facility.
“It’s nice to finally have our own place to call home,” said Reeves.
With construction soon to be underway, the new facility is set to be complete by February 2023.