Restoration plans rekindled for jail, courthouse

On February 10 at the Bandera County Commissioners’ Court regular meeting, the commissioners discussed the next steps for the renovation of Bandera’s historic 1881 jail and courthouse buildings on 12th Street, both recorded as Texas Historic Landmarks in 1965.

Commissioner Jack Moseley moved to search for a new architect for the project, and the motion was approved 5-0 by the court.

The original plans to restore the historic site, from 2012-2017, were scrapped after the court regarded the project to be untenable due to budget shortfalls.

“We jumped the gun and there was not enough money to continue.” said Moseley, adding the architect firm’s plans at that time did not align with the Court’s vision for Bandera.

When the restoration plans were halted in 2017, the Court voted to collect two-sevenths of the county’s hotel occupancy taxes in order to prepare for future renovation plans.

Since then, and with the addition of periodic tax refunds, the county’s coffer for this fund has built up enough to consider plans for the new restoration project.

After the historical buildings have been restored, they will become the new home to both the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce, according to Mosley.