Saturday, April 20, 2024
The appraisal district side of the planned new building is to the left. The leased side, which will probably be used by the Texas Department of Pubic Safety, is to the right.
The Hood Central Appraisal District plans to build a new, larger building on five acres near Acton Elementary School that will involve a land swap with the Granbury ISD.
Plans include a drive-through window; ample parking; a large meeting room that can be used by the public free of charge and as a polling site; and separated, leased space that will likely be utilized by the Texas Department of Public Safety as a permanent location for a full-service driver’s license office.
Rent paid on the leased portion will offset the building’s cost.
Chief Appraiser Eddie Roe made the announcement at an interlocal government meeting held at Granbury City Hall on Wednesday, March 30. Members of the Hood County Commissioners Court, the Granbury City Council, and the Granbury ISD were present.
Roe was accompanied at the meeting by architect Fred Cauble and Bill Baird of the engineering firm Baird, Hampton & Brown. At one point during Roe’s slide presentation, Cauble and Baird joined him at the podium.
Roe detailed why the HCAD needs more office space. He stated that due to the county’s growth, more appraisers and support staff are needed.
The HCAD currently has seven residential appraisers and one commercial appraiser. Each appraiser is handling between 9,000-10,000 accounts, even though the state recommends a workload of 5,000-6,000 accounts per appraiser, Roe said.
Roe said that in addition to inadequate office space, the current facility at 1902 West Pearl Street, built 40 years ago, also does not have enough parking, especially since parents of students at nearby Granbury High School often park there to wait for their kids to be released from school.
The design for the new headquarters will allow for both the building and the parking area to be expanded, the chief appraiser stated.
Roe said that appraisals are underway in preparation for a land trade with GISD. The school district will give the appraisal district five acres in Acton and the appraisal district will give GISD its West Pearl Street property.
Any difference in value will be paid by the appropriate entity, he said.
The new HCAD building is planned for the southeast corner of James Road and FM 4, where there is a traffic signal. The front door will face the intersection.
A shared road might be constructed south of the building to alleviate traffic on FM 4/Acton Highway during school drop-off and pick-up times, Roe said.
He noted that a drive-through window will protect the HCAD from forced closures in situations like the COVID-19 pandemic. Cauble stated that a drive-through window has proven popular at an appraisal district office in another county.
Roe said that DPS will pay market rates for the lease, which will alleviate the HCAD’s operating budget, but that funding will be contingent upon approval by the Legislature in the 2023 session.
Although Roe did not specifically mention that DPS plans to use the space for a full-service driver’s license office, Precinct 3 Commissioner Jack Wilson told the Hood County News that this is the plan. He said that there will be eight work stations for DPS staffers.
Wilson was the driving force behind the creation of a temporary driver’s license office at Annex 3 on West Pearl Street. That office is intended to serve as a temporary location and can take care of renewals and name and address changes by appointment only. It cannot offer driving tests.
The full-service driver’s license office in Tolar will remain open even when a larger DPS office opens in Hood County, Wilson said.
The commissioner feels confident that the Legislature will approve the funding needed for DPS to share space with the appraisal district. Regardless, building a “shell” structure on that side of the building will provide the HCAD with space available for leasing.
The HCAD and DPS offices will be secured from the public, Roe said. A large meeting room and restrooms will be in a main area accessible to the public and situated between the two sets of office space.
THE FINANCING
In an email exchange with the Hood County News after the meeting, Roe said he does not anticipate the new building impacting the public through increased taxes.
He said that the board is considering a 20-year note and that rent from the leased space will “almost pay for the building itself.”
Roe explained it this way in his email.
“We will be financing it with Government Capital and payments will be built into our operating budget which is allocated to the taxing entities. Each taxing unit pays a portion of our operating budget proportionate to the amount of tax they levy divided by the total levy of all units. For example, GISD has 62% of the total levy so they pay 62% of our budget. It will just be built in with the rest of our budget. At approximately $300,000 a year for our note, it shouldn’t even make a tick on any of their tax rates.”
Roe said that the HCAD’s operating budget will increase due to increased staff, and there will be costs associated with the new building, such as computer and phone systems.
“But the new building will be much more energy efficient, and we won’t have to budget so much for maintenance, so that will be a plus,” he stated in his email.
