Hood County court gives conceptual OK for DPS to occupy Acton Annex, 4–1 vote; contract to follow

The Hood County Commissioners Court on July 24 conceptually approved allowing the Texas Department of Public Safety to relocate a driver's license office into the Acton Annex, but the move is conditioned on finalizing a written interlocal agreement.

The presiding officer read the amended motion that the court "have a conceptual agreement that DPS will be allowed to move into the Acton Annex to have a DPS licensing office for the benefit of the residents of Hood County, Texas" and named Matt Mills and Jack Wilson as the point people to work with DPS on a final contract. The court approved the motion 4–1 after one commissioner voiced a formal nay on procedural grounds.

Rebecca Perez, field operations manager for the DPS field office, told the court the document presented was a draft and negotiable. "We don't like to necessarily call it a lease when we're drafting this... this is as it says, a draft," Perez said, adding that the state intends to request the two county employees as FTEs and that those employees would go through state hiring processes if they transition to the state.

Court members said they wanted firm contract protections before equipment or walls were altered and before records moved. The motion recorded today grants conceptual permission for DPS to occupy the space while requiring completion of a mutually acceptable interlocal agreement prior to any final physical move or renovation.

The court also assigned county staff to inventory records in the Development Department and to supervise any packing or transfer, and scheduled a special-called meeting to consider the final contract.