After months of back-and-forth, Tarrant County Commissioners gave their unofficial support to renovating the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office training center, instead of the original plan to build a new academy at a higher cost.
The renovation alone would cost about $19.6 million, plus about $2 million for furniture and equipment, according to estimates from Komatsu Architecture, the firm the county hired for the project.
Commissioners also have the option to approve an $18 million shooting range at Tarrant County College Northwest and a $3.9 million tactical training space as part of this plan, including other additions. If they say yes to all the additions, the total project cost would be $50.4 million.
County Judge Tim O’Hare and County Commissioner Manny Ramirez threw their support behind the renovation plan during a Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday, and so did Sheriff Bill Waybourn. The county can start the renovation before making final decisions on extra facilities, Waybourn said.
“While we don’t want to put the range and the tactical village on the very back burner, it can wait and we can move forward with space that we desperately need right now,” Waybourn said.
Komatsu Architecture presented three plans on Tuesday:
- Renovating the existing training center for a base cost of $19,596,665.
- Building an addition to an existing building at the Tarrant County College Northwest Campus for a base cost of $35,113,650.
- Building a standalone building on Tarrant County College’s Northwest Campus for a base cost of $51,671,288.
Nothing is official until county commissioners vote on this issue, but they gave an unofficial go-ahead to Komatsu Architecture to plan for the renovation. The actual vote on the choice could happen in December, County Administrator Chandler Merritt said.
The county originally considered spending up to $50 million on a new training center.
Sheriff Bill Waybourn told the Fort Worth Report his department had outgrown its existing space, and he wanted to make sure his deputies got the best training possible. Others wondered whether the spending was necessary, because Tarrant County College and the Fort Worth Police Department already have law enforcement training facilities.
The county later shifted its plan and proposed a partnership with one of those local academies.
Ramon Garcia with the Tarrant County Law Enforcement Association told commissioners he’s excited for the training center updates. His organization represents Sheriff’s Office employees.
“We’re going to have that opportunity to raise that next generation of highly trained and skilled officers for Tarrant County,” Garcia said.
Editor’s Note: Komatsu Architecture is run by the family of Sylvia Komatsu, KERA’s chief content officer.
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