Last week, Jeff Davis County commissioners voted to use more than $300,000 in local funds to partially pay a construction bill that was supposed to be covered by federal grant money, even though that money still hasn’t arrived.
The payment went to Aztec Construction for ongoing work on the Fort Davis Community Center, a project now nearly $600,000 into what is expected to be a $3 million development. The vote covered just over half of what the county owes. Nearly $300,000 remains unpaid.
The funds were originally promised through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant. County officials have repeatedly said those funds could arrive “any day”—a statement they first made during a June 27 meeting. Nearly a month later, the funds have yet to appear in county accounts.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Royce Laskoskie, who cast the lone dissenting vote, told the Mountain Dispatch he is not opposed to having a community center but questioned the decision to begin the project before money was secured. “I am not and never have been against a community center,” Laskoskie said. “That said, I have cautioned the court and the judge in beginning the project before all of the funding was in the county’s bank accounts.”
Judge Curtis Evans recused himself from the vote because his private business supplied equipment to Aztec Construction.
Uncertainty also surrounds a separate funding source that awarded $150,000 to the county. Of that, either $74,000 or $76,000 has already been spent, depending on who is asked. The judge’s assistant told commissioners approximately $70,000 remains, while County Treasurer Dawn Kitts first estimated the balance at $10,000—then said she didn’t know and would need to look it up.
The lack of clarity is not new. Jeff Davis County has a history of audit findings, with minor to serious issues identified in recent years.
At this point, Jeff Davis County has advanced over $300,000 of local taxpayer money for a bill it never planned to pay and still owes nearly $300,000 more. With no confirmed date for reimbursement and multiple conflicting financial reports from inside the courthouse, residents are increasingly asking what happens if the federal grant funds never show up.
