It has been more than three decades since Hays County opened its current sheriff’s office and jail. In 1989, the population of Hays County was around 65,400. Since then, Hays County has become one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, and in 2019, the population was over 230,000. It’s because of that growth that the county began eyeing an expansion of its public safety facilities, and as of this week the county has announced that they are officially in operation.
In November of 2016, Hays County voters passed a $106.4 million bond package for public safety facilities, including an expansion and renovation of the decades-old jail and the construction of buildings for emergency communications, law enforcement, and fleet maintenance.
Sheriff Gary Cutler says the Public Safety Building, the Allen Bridges Training Academy, and the fleet maintenance building have all been completed, save for a few minor touchups. The jail expansion has been completed and inmates have been transferred to the new building while the renovations to the old jail have started. As phases of the renovation are completed and staffing levels are adequate, outsourced inmates will return to Hays County. Once renovations are completed, the Hays County Jail will have a maximum capacity of 603 inmates.
The Public Safety Building, located at 810 South Stagecoach Trail, houses most of the Hays County Sheriff’s Office law enforcement bureaus and administration, the Office of Emergency Management, and a state of art combined 9-1-1 Center that will house operators from the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, Kyle Police Department, and Texas State University. This combined center along with the Office of Emergency Management will increase the efficiency of response to major disasters throughout Hays County.
