Elections, JP offices moving to former community center

No room for Veterans Services or indigent healthcare

County commissioners Tuesday approved an architectural concept that will move the elections and Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 offices into the former Burdick Community Center.

However, the space needed for each of the two departments means there is not enough room in the new digs for the Veterans Service Center and Indigent Health and Housing offices, officials said.

John Allender of ArchiTexas, the architectural firm hired to redesign the former Burdick Community Center purchased by the county in 2024 from the Roy Maas Meadowlands, led a review of the firm’s findings and design, submitted to the Kendall County Commissioners Court during its June 23 meeting.

“Our goal was to find out the best approach for interior renovation without altering the exterior,” Allender said.

The center is at 119 Old San Antonio Road.

The 10,500- squarefoot building will be divided between the Justice Precinct 2 office and courtroom through the front of the building, with the County Elections Office accessible via several entrances off the back.

“The goal really was to find out the best approach for interior renovation of this building without considering additions to the exterior,” Allender said.

Projected population growth was paramount for the two larger operations, elections and JP2, as the county continues to be one of the fastest growing in the state, he said.

“We had considered moving Veterans Services and Indigent Healthcare but realistically, we’re only going to have room for those two departments,” said Precinct 2 Commissioner Andra Wisian.

For now, the veterans and indigent healthcare offices remain at 126 Rosewood Ave.

Precinct 3 Commissioner Richard Chapman applauded the move to the center.

“We went after this with the concept (that) this plan has to work for a minimum of 10 years, and I think it will,” Chapman said. “I don’t think it would be worth spending the money and the effort if we weren’t projecting these two departments out 10 years.”

The JP2 space will include a larger courtroom, a jury room, a waiting room and a secure court clerk’s office. A key element for the JP2 portion is ballistic protection for the court clerks.

Allender said there will be two 1,500-square-foot storage center mezzanine levels built on each side of the building.

The design allows for 4,779 feet for JP2 and the elections office will occupy about 7,500 square feet — more than twice the 3,000 square feet Elections Administrator Staci Decker said her office currently uses.

“We’ve been there for 16 years, and we probably outgrew it about five years into it,” Decker said.

The elections office currently is located at 221 Fawn Valley Drive, off Esser Road.

“The goal really was to find out the best approach for interior renovation.”

— John Allender, ArchiTexas