Three years later, there’s little to show for taxpayers’ $1.2 billion JPS project. Why?

Almost three years after voters approved the $1.2 billion John Peter Smith Hospital improvement plan, construction is still about a year away.

Tarrant County commissioners brought the project management firms Broaddus & Associates and LeVis Consulting Group on board in May to start work on the project. Both companies are based in Texas.

Officials say that the coronavirus pandemic and a 2019 property tax law delayed the project. The property tax law limits local governments from raising property tax revenue by more than 3.5% without voter approval. For years, rising property values have allowed governments and school districts to bring in additional revenue without raising their property tax rates.

County officials feared the JPS bond might force them to go over the revenue cap, and they would have to ask voters to re-approve the project with the caveat that property taxes could be increased to pay for the bond.

“We promised the citizens that when we passed that bond, that it would not cause us to have to raise taxes,” County Judge Glen Whitley said.

Ultimately, the law that passed did not include hospital districts.

Now, the firms are looking at locations and deciding which facility needs to be built first, said Darrick Walls, senior program manager with Broaddus & Associates. They will be paid $7.9 million for this first phase.

County Administrator G.K. Maenius said the public won’t see much during this phase as engineers and architects lay out a plan.

“It’s a prelude to breaking ground,” Maenius said.

The management groups will oversee the construction of a behavioral and mental health hospital, four regional medical centers, an outpatient surgery center and increased bed space among other improvements.

JPS already started some work on the project when it acquired the 51,700-square-foot JPS Oncology and Infusion Center at 1450 Eighth Ave.

Overall, the project is estimated to take 10 to 12 years. Tarrant County voters approved the $800 million bond for the $1.2 billion project in November 2018 with over 80% support. It was the first bond requested for the hospital since 1985.

The project management firms’ contract runs through April 2022.

The short-term contract was designed to give the county and JPS flexibility if they decide to switch vendors. The contract aligns with the first phase, the planning and implementation.

While Whitley supports the short-term contracts, Commissioner Roy Brooks told JPS President and CEO Robert Earley that he didn’t understand why JPS can’t commit to the program managers.

“It makes me suspicious of the motives,” Brooks told Earley on May 18. “I want to see a comprehensive contract.”

Brooks said a long-term, comprehensive contract could be structured to allow the county to get out of it. Commissioner Devan Allen agreed with Brooks and said there wasn’t a full agreement yet.

Broaddus oversaw the construction of the $74 million Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building, which opened in August 2015. LeVis has worked on renovating the Dallas County Records Building and Dallas Love Field.

Moving forward, the commissioners tasked JPS and the project management groups to make mental health services and medical homes a priority.

“I just want to start turning dirt and quit talking about turning dirt,” Whitley said.