Smith County Holds Courthouse Workshop

TYLER — Multiple studies have been conducted by Smith county in the last 2 decades and all of the assessments concluded that a new courthouse was needed. On Wednesday, Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran told KTBB the feedback for a new courthouse has been very positive, “One of the things that is very important to us is that we keep the public apprised throughout this process because this is the people’s house.” Moran continued, “We have had great input in the last 3 months and we are going to continue with lots of workshops in the spring and summer moving forward.”

Tuesday’s meeting was the first time commissioners were able to discuss input from online surveys and dozens of meetings throughout the county. Possible potential locations were discussed of where to build a new courthouse. Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran gave an overview on information and feedback that has been collected so far from community input. Fitzpatrick Architects and Project Advocates gave presentations on possible site locations for any new courthouse and possible space usage for that facility. Over the past few months, the commissioners held community meetings in each precinct throughout the county, and Moran has held dozens of meetings with individual stakeholders and public and private organizations. More than 700 surveys have been submitted, the majority of them by people who have been to the courthouse numerous times, mostly as jurors, attorneys, litigants or witnesses.