Travis County commissioners today unanimously gave the go-ahead to county officials to develop guidelines for public-private partnerships for building projects — mainly for a proposed civil courthouse.
County leaders have said that they might call for a November bond election for the construction of a civil courthouse — expected to cost at least $300 million — on a downtown lot that the county purchased late last month. The courthouse construction would appear on the ballot as a separate proposition, officials said.
Commissioners appointed four officials to work on guidelines for public-private partnerships. According to one of the officials, possible guidelines could include circumstances for sharing space with a private party in the facility, credentials the private party would need to meet and who would pay for what.
The move is part of early preparations for a November bond referendum. Over the next several months, officials will try to whittle down to $200 million a list of transportation and parks projects that currently total more than $550 million for a possible bond election in November. Commissioners are expected to make a final decision in August or September on whether to call the election and what projects would be included.
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