After months of debate and a failed state inspection, Potter County officials appear to be aligning on a difficult but necessary conclusion: the county jail has reached the end of its useful life. In a special meeting held Wednesday, county commissioners heard a detailed presentation from Kenny Burns, CEO of Burns Architecture, outlining three options for the future of the Potter County Detention Center.
All options come with a cost—but some far more than others.
Three Options, One Hard Truth
Burns presented commissioners with three choices: do nothing, expand the current 30-year-old jail, or build a new facility altogether. Each option was weighed against current population trends, facility conditions, and long-term financial impact.
Option one, expanding the existing jail, was quickly met with skepticism due to the facility’s significant infrastructure issues. Burns outlined failing mechanical, electrical, and security systems—some of which are decades outdated.
“Your mechanical, electrical, plumbing systems, the security electronic systems – that’s what controls the doors, locks, the intercoms, all that stuff – we know your system needs to be replaced,” Burns said. “It is antiquated.”
Commissioner John Coffee, who has long questioned the value of investing further in the current facility, said the tour confirmed his concerns.
“A lot of this is something that I’ve been trying to get the answer to for a while... I didn’t feel like even looking at the core facility was of value,” Coffee said. “It’s at the end of its life.”
Option two—doing nothing—was dismissed just as quickly.
“If you do nothing, there will be a cost to that,” Burns warned. Sheriff Brian Thomas echoed that sentiment, adding, “It’s not going to happen overnight, but I can also tell you that it’s going to cost a lot of money, and I’m a taxpayer in Potter County as well, and in my opinion, I’ll pay that tax to keep my county safe.”
A New Jail: Necessary but Expensive
Option three—a new facility—is the direction commissioners, Burns, and the sheriff’s office believe makes the most sense. However, the looming question remains: how will the county pay for it?
Burns estimated that building a new 700–800-bed facility would cost around $200 million today. But delaying the project could lead to steep cost increases. “$200 million, wait 10 years, is $400 million, wait 20 years, is $1.3 billion,” Burns said. “We have to look at today’s dollars versus tomorrow’s dollars.”
The current jail, which has 599 beds, is consistently operating over capacity, peaking above 650 inmates. In addition to the overcrowding, the county has been forced to spend nearly $1 million annually to house inmates in other facilities.
Sheriff Thomas said the strain on staff and infrastructure has become unsustainable. “We’ve seen it. I have 90 people that work out there every day and they make it work. We’re at a point where our numbers are way above what we need to be at,” he said. “One of those nights was, ‘Can my jail take an add-on?’ I don’t think it can, and that’s been confirmed pretty much by what you heard today.”
Eye-Opening Facility Tours
Prior to the meeting, Burns had encouraged commissioners to tour both the existing Potter County facility and a more modern jail in Deaf Smith County. Potter County Judge Nancy Tanner admitted the experience changed her perspective.
“We went to Deaf Smith County first and saw what a wonderful facility that is, and then we went to our facility and … not so wonderful,” Tanner said. “Today, I noticed big time. It needs help. That’s where we are right now.”
Tanner later added, “It’s very clear today that the commissioners court is very in favor of getting this done. We will move rapidly. We just don’t know how to pay for it.”
Possible funding mechanisms include a bond election or certificates of obligation, but Tanner said no decision has been made. “I’ll find that out in the next two weeks,” she added.
Still Waiting on Final Numbers
Despite growing consensus, the court is still waiting on an updated facility needs assessment from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), which last issued a report in August 2024. Burns noted his team has been gathering a wide range of data—population growth, law enforcement activity, school projections, and even traffic counts—to ensure accurate planning.
“We want factual input. It’s very critical to what we’re doing,” Burns said.
Commissioner Coffee expressed caution, noting discrepancies between Burns’s early projections and the TCJS recommendations. “We’re waiting on jail standards to see what they think we need,” Coffee said. “If we do end up with a 776-bed jail as he stated, those numbers may not be anywhere near what the state jail inspectors are saying we need.”
What’s Next?
No final decision was made at Wednesday’s meeting, but consensus is clearly forming around building a new facility. The unanswered question is not what needs to happen, but how the county will make it happen.
Commissioners say they’re committed to moving forward, but with responsible planning.
As Burns put it, the cost of inaction could be staggering—financially and otherwise. “We have to look at today’s dollars versus tomorrow’s dollars,” he said.
