Commissioners can't find money to operate Civic center, which is primarily rented out for reunions, parties, etc.

Some civic-minded ladies have offered to take care for the Civic Center as a good will project.

Other than insurance (I'm assuming the County will still have to provide insurance), do you see any other issues that might bite us?

Thanks, Mike

Mike,

We recently approved an arrangement for a private consortium to run our railroad museum inside our biggest building (which used to belong to Santa Fe and which we refurbished with TxDOT funds, one of the conditions of which was that we have a railroad museum inside). I'll check on what we've encountered in terms of ins and outs and let you know. If the county is going to directly lease, it will have to be done by public auction, sealed bid or sealed proposal (see LGC sec. 263.001, 263.007). If it's jointly owned/operated with a muncipality, you can pass off running the facility to a board of managers (see LGC sec. 301.003). More directly, if it's the typical farm-and-ranch type facility, the commissioners court can contract for complete management and use of buildings of that sort (see LGC sec. 319.004 in tandem with Gov't Code ch. 1473, subchapter B). Unless it's a straight-line lease, the county probably will still be on the hook for premises liability claims (assuming they fit within the Tort Claims Act), so keeping up insurance is a good idea, though an indemnity agreement with the folks who propose to run it can't hurt, if they'll agree to it.