Contentious courthouse saga to reach anticlimactic end
November’s general election is just a couple weeks away, and early voting starts on Monday, October 20. Alongside the statewide ballot measures up for voter approval, Presidio County residents will also have the opportunity to vote on whether or not the county should take on certificates of obligation (COs)—in simpler terms, to take on debt—in order to pay for critical repairs to the iconic courthouse in Marfa.
The item on the ballot is “Measure A” and asks for a yes or no on whether the county has the authority to issue $5 million in COs. While the bulk of funds would be used on the courthouse, the money also would pay for repairs at the County Annex in Presidio as well as road and bridge equipment.
The courthouse became a political flashpoint over the summer during an especially contentious budget drafting season. (Then-commissioner—and current county judge hopeful David Beebe—went so far as to call it “the most disappointing of [his] career” during a campaign launch event.)
After roughly a year of voicing support for the courthouse project, County Judge Joe Portillo changed his tune, and his supporters couched the issue as a “north-versus-south” political punching bag. A handful of voters from Presidio banded together and launched a petition campaign, collecting signatures from hundreds of residents county-wide to drive the issue to a general vote.
The commissioners have since come to a consensus that they won’t pursue the project right now, even in the unlikely event that voters don’t strike down the call for certificates of obligation at the polls. Beebe—who was willing to sacrifice his seat on the court over the issue—lamented the amount of wasted time and money spent setting everything up. The largest single purchase was the services of design-build firm McKinstry of around $250,000, but there were smaller expenses too—like the cost of printing election notices in the newspaper. “It’s not the right time to do that project,” Beebe conceded. “We tried to do something, and now we’re not going to do it.”
While some courthouse repairs—like adding a new central heating and air conditioning system—can wait, commissioners will still have to confront other crucial repairs, including frequently being unable to use the aged, malfunctioning elevator, a potential violation of state and federal accessibility laws.
This year also saw tax increases at the city level in Marfa and Presidio, which Beebe fears will lead to some confusion at the polls—Presidio’s City Council announced its intention over the summer to seek its own certificates of obligation.
Presidio Mayor John Ferguson said that the city’s own CO election was on hold for the moment as officials gathered more information. (The resolution passed by the city opens the door for the city to take on debt by holding an election but does not bind the city to actually holding said election.) “We need a little bit more information,” he explained and encouraged folks to follow discussions at City Council over the next few weeks if they’d like to participate in the discussion.
