Board approves land purchase for new 911 facility
The Garvin County Board of Commissioners decided Tuesday to table discussion on calling a special election for a sales tax proposition to fund a new county detention center until early 2026.
The Board’s regular meeting agenda Tuesday included consideration of a resolution calling a Nov. 18 special election for a half-cent sales tax proposition to support construction and operations of new detention center and the operation of a jail trust authority.
A similar one-cent sales tax proposition to support construction of a new jail failed in February of this year with 52.8% of voters who turned out voting against the measure.
During Tuesday’s discussion County Commissioners Randy Chandler, Mike Gollihare and Tom Pyle were in agreement a sales tax proposition will be hard to pass with current economic conditions across the county.
“Things are slow in the economy right now,” Chandler said. “I don’t think it’s going to pass, to be honest with you. I think we’d be wasting our time.”
Garvin County Sheriff Jim Mullett also weighed in on the discussion, saying he had mixed emotions about a new sales tax proposition.
“People have asked me to put it back on ballot, but I understand the economy and what’s going on. Whatever decision you all make I’ll back you a hundred percent on it,” Mullett told commissioners. “We need a new jail. We’ve just got to figure out how we’re going to do it.”
Just under 9% of voters registered in Garvin County turned out for February’s countywide sales tax election.
Election Board Secretary Holly Levis said during Tuesday’s meeting if the proposition were on a larger election ballot, like a statewide primary election, voter turnout would likely be higher.
With a gubernatorial election set for 2026, election dates will include a June primary, a primary runoff in August, and November general elections statewide.
“If you want to table it, we can table it until the first of the year,” Mullett told commissioners. “We’ll see how the economy is going to go, and we’ll go from there.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners also voted to approve making an offer to purchase 4.5 acres of land along State Highway 19 west of Pauls Valley. The site will be used to build a new 911 dispatch and emergency management center. The board voted in July to move forward with a feasibility study for a new dispatch center. Garvin County Emergency Management Director Dave Johnson has said a more secure facility is needed to provide better protection for dispatchers during emergencies like severe weather.
The current 911 dispatch center is located on the second floor of an older building in downtown Pauls Valley. Johnson said recent severe weather events in the region, including the tornado that leveled part of downtown Sulphur in April of 2024, have underscored the need for a more secure facility.
“Before that Sulphur storm, I had never considered what it would do if we lost that building,” Johnson said, referring to the current 911 center.
Commissioners said they would also like to see a building with additional amenities like appropriate kitchen facilities and sleeping quarters to accommodate long shifts and dispatchers working during inclement winter weather conditions.
“We want our 911 dispatchers to feel safe while they’re doing their job,” Commissioner Pyle said.
Johnson has said previously the county is exploring whether there are grant opportunities that could help fund the new facility.