something designed, built, installed, etc., to serve a specific function affording a convenience or service:
transportation facilities; educational facilities; a new research facility.
On January the 29th, 2018 the Fully Informed Jury Association volunteers, Eric Schafer and Matthew Barnes of McLennan county, were informed that they can not be on “public” property, because it is now “private” county property.
The words, secure facility, compound, campus, courthouse and private are all synonymous with one another and used to describe the walkway between two government owned buildings on 5th and 6th Streets in downtown Waco, Texas.
The sheriff’s representative in the video speaking is Lt. K. Furgeson.
“My video didn’t take, but I heard part of the conversation Lt McGee had with Matthew at the courthouse. Basically, he told us we could be on the sidewalk at the perimeter of the campus. I heard him mention the open carry and complained about people leaving the brochures on the floor in the potential-juror mtg room. He said he would have a letter next Mon on Sheriff’s Dept letterhead.
Neither Lt gave a legal reason for why we couldn’t be in the area. We simply were not allowed there, but the jurors were allowed there.” – Eric Shafer – F.I.J.A. Volunteer
Recording in the video below was done by Matthew Barnes as he, and Shafer go to the McLennan County Sheriffs office to inquire with the owners of the land about the notice to not trespass.
The F.I.J.A. volunteers have been dutifully handing out educational literature to McLennan county residents in the alley ways (shown in red brick below is the alley in between 5th and 6th streets) and sidewalks, usually on Monday mornings with the goal of finding the hands of those reporting for their jury duty.
We would want the residents as informed of their rights as possible and educated on the principals of freedom, would we not?
McLennan County Courthouse 2018
This is not the first time that this group has been harassed or told to do some unconstitutional act by the officers of the court, whom, are simply obeying orders from those who occupy the pulpits inside.
Matthew Barnes | Randall S Gates | BobSmilie – FIJA
The officers of the court went so far as to get their cousins to show up during the Jake Carrizal trial and pose as protestors, so that the judge could admonish them in open court without a real advocate to protest such none sense. (*Fake cousins not pictured here.)
One might say that the Mistrial of Jake Carrizal was due, in part, to these types of FIJA outreach volunteers, that the jury was informed enough to find themselves in an adverse agreement to guilt during the Carrizal trial which lead to a mistrial verdict.
A large “Thank You!” goes out to the men and women who helped make these educational events possible over the last 14 months in McLennan County Texas, and for the several years nation wide. Thank You FIJA!
Just a friendly reminder to all of the tax payers of McLennan County Texas, in 2014 the Net Worth of McLennan County was 10.2 Billion dollars.
McLennan County Net Worth 11-2014 10.2 Billion dollars
public facilities corporation McLennan County Tx 2015
Aside from not finding an image or location other than the courthouse for this business, the majority of the mention of the McLennan County Public Facilities Corporation is for the county agenda for the board to meet. In private. Again.
“The public facility corporation was formed in 2009 after a split commissioners court approved construction of an 816-bed private jail to resolve overcrowding at the neighboring county jail. Gibson and former Commissioner Joe Mashek voted against building the jail.
The board issued $49 million in project revenue bonds, which were secured with the county’s bond rating, to shield the county from the legal liability of repaying the debt.
The bonds instead are to be repaid through revenues from housing prisoners for various state and federal agencies, as well as McLennan County’s overflow inmates.
The commissioners court serves as the board’s directors, while County Clerk Andy Harwell (Jack Harwell is his father and former Sheriff) and County Treasurer Bill Helton were appointed as its original officers.” – from a Waco Tribune article describing Gibson’s resignation.
There was an excess of around 6 Million dollars within 3 years of the filling up the new jails in Waco according to a KWTX article:
“Because of inconsistent prisoner counts, the county began seeking new vendors to run the jail who would offer an “inmate threshold” to the county.
The county’s new three year contract with LaSalle Corrections includes a 325-inmate threshold.
Meaning, the county must provide an average of 325 overflow prisoners a day to the Jack Harwell Detention Center.
If the county fails to meet that threshold, it would have to dish out $45.50 for every bed short of that average.
The plus side to the contract is that every federal inmate LaSalle housed at the Jack Harwell Detention Center is included in the 325-inmate threshold.
For example, if the county has 300 overflow prisoners in the Jack Harwell Detention Center and LaSalle provides 25 federal inmates, the county meets the threshold and only pays for its 300 prisoners that day.
CEC would have provided a threshold if the county renewed its contract, but county commissioners felt LaSalle would do a better job of housing federal inmates at the facility.
Snell says no federal inmates are currently held in the jail.”
According to the McLennan County Financial Report for 2014 the formation of a McLennan County Public Facilities Corporation, which owns the Jack Harwell Jail(s) in Waco, was formed to shield the board members from liability.
Another former DPS officer and SWAT team leader for the F Company for the Texas Rangers is a man named Bob Prince, who also happens to sit on the board of LaSalle Southwest Corrections out of Louisiana/Dripping Springs Texas, who gained the contract for the Waco Jails in 2013.
Bob Prince – LaSalle Corrections Board Member
Bob Prince LaSalle Prison website 2015
Bob Prince’s son Randall works for, none other than, the Texas Rangers as part of Director Steve McCraw’s three-pronged executive team, ran the Texas Rangers for four years prior to his promotion last September.
“AUSTIN — For years, private jails in Texas run by LaSalle Corrections have been plagued by complaints of lax training and abuse. In-jail deaths at their facilities across the state have resulted in multiple lawsuits for wrongful deaths and negligence.
So when the state passed a law in 2017 requiring Texas jails to have an outside law enforcement agency investigate such deaths, the Texas Rangers seemed a perfect fit. Nearly every jail in the state chose the Rangers, the state’s premier investigative agency, to oversee their investigations — including seven of eight LaSalle-run jails — overseen by the state.
Now, the Texas Jail Commission, which oversees 241 jails across the state, is reviewing its decision to appoint the Rangers as the investigating agency for eight LaSalle-run jails, including ones in Parker and Johnson counties.
The review comes after The Dallas Morning News informed the commission that LaSalle’s director of governmental affairs, Bob Prince, is a former Texas Ranger whose son, Randall Prince, now oversees the Rangers as a deputy director for the Department of Public Safety. The younger Prince, who is part of Director Steve McCraw’s three-pronged executive team, ran the Texas Rangers for four years prior to his promotion last September.”
Bonds were issued in 2009 for the project. It would be interesting to know if any of these people still owned any bonds when they retired.
THE ISSUER
The Issuer is a nonprofit public corporation and instrumentality of the County formed on behalf of the County pursuant to the Act and an Order Approving and Authorizing the Creation of the McLennan County Public Facility Corporation of the Commissioners Court of the County (the “Commissioners Court”) adopted on September 2, 2008.
The Issuer was formed for the purpose of financing for and on behalf of the County eligible jail and criminal detention facility projects and other public buildings and facilities for use by the County.
The Issuer currently has no unencumbered assets. Its rights under the Lease will be assigned, and its interest in the Project pledged, to the Trustee for the benefit of the owners of the Bonds. Pursuant to the bylaws of the Issuer, the Issuer is governed by a five-member board of directors, all of whom are appointed by the Commissioners Court of the County.
In addition, the Commissioners Court has the right at any time to dismiss any director, for cause, or at will, and to appoint a successor to take his or her place. The directors serve without compensation for six-year terms.
The current directors and their occupations are as follows:
Director ————————————– Occupation
Jim Lewis ————————————– County Judge
(retired in 2012 due to budget woes)
Wendall Crunk ————————————– “Farmer and Rancher” – Deceased in 2015
Wendall was a District Deputy at the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office for many years. He also proudly served as McLennan County Commissioner, Precinct 1 from 1997, until 2008. Wendall farmed and ranched in the Asa area all his life, was owner and operator of Crunk Agri-Service, and was a Pioneer Seed Agency Representative for 47 years. Wendall was also a member of Waco Masonic Lodge #92.
Joe A. Mashek ————————————– Commissioner, Precinct 3
Ray Meadows ————————————– Commissioner, Precinct 4
The Issuer will enter into the Indenture, the Ground Lease, the Lease and the Deed of Trust, and will take and retain the leasehold interest in the Project, to facilitate the financing of the Project to be leased to the County.
The Issuer’s obligation with respect to the payment of debt service on the Series 2009 Bonds is a special, limited, non-recourse obligation payable solely from the Issuer Project Revenues, including the Rental Payments payable by the County pursuant to the Lease. The Issuer has no authority to levy taxes for the payment of debt service on the
Series 2009 Bonds. The Series 2009 Bonds do not constitute an obligation, either special, general or moral of the County, the State, or any other political subdivision thereof.
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