The Dallas County Board of Supervisors met in regular session on Tuesday.
The meeting started with an update of the reconfiguration project at the Dallas County Courthouse with Farnsworth Group Architect Principal Kristofer Orth. He explained that there are plans to utilize the building regardless of the results of the bond vote in November for a criminal court building.. Orth detailed that courtrooms will still exist in the building with the plan to have two on the first floor, a bench trial on the second floor, and one jury courtroom on the third floor.
However, if the bond does go through, Orth outlined the courthouse will still be used as either an alternate space for jury selection or a possible storage area as well as moving Juvenile Court Services into the criminal court building. Orth confirmed that Turner Construction will work on phase one in September to put two courtrooms on the first floor, which is slated to be done in January 2026. Orth said that they’d know by then if the bond passed, and that would give them direction for how to navigate with phase two.
Next, the board then approved a resolution for the supervisors to allocate $100,000 public information and education on the bond referendum for the criminal court building proposal, accepted a request by Northern Natural Gas for an easement on 260th Street in Adel to put a six foot fence up to store materials, and the purchase of two Ziegler Cat John Deere Tractors to the Secondary Roads Department for a total of 631,917.
Additionally, the board held a public hearing for the final plat of Ritter Subdivision Plat 1 off 165th Street in Granger and approved the resolution, as well as a five-year lease agreement with the Wells Fargo ATM Building on 100 North Kinnick Drive in Adel for $9,600 annually, setting May 27th at 9:30am as the public hearing for the fiscal year 2025 budget amendment, and resolutions for three appropriation operating transfers for the Operations Administration account.
The board also held a General Assistance Workshop and a Drainage District Trustees meeting.