2023 RECAP: WASHINGTON CO. JUDGE JOHN DURRENBERGER
speaks at the "State of the Community" forum held
on March 9, 2022 at Blinn College in Brenham.
As 2024 kicks off, KWHI is taking the time to talk with local officials and get their thoughts on the past year.
We continue with Washington County Judge John Durrenberger, who discussed some of the county’s dealings in 2023 and what can be expected heading into 2024.
Durrenberger describes 2023 as a “routine” year, laying the foundation for bigger projects to come like renovations to the jail kitchen, long-range planning for the Expo, and exterior courthouse improvements.
Durrenberger says the county had a good year financially and was able to provide pay raises to employees. 2023 was not without frustrations, though, as the county experienced slowdowns with projects like the jail generator, which was pushed back from an arrival date of this past fall to hopefully this month or next, and the EMS station at Lake Somerville, where the county had to step back due to higher-than-anticipated cost estimates.
One project that Durrenberger is particularly eager to get started this year is the South Meyersville Road bridge over New Year’s Creek, which he says has been in the works for four years. While there is still work yet to do with surveying and acquiring right-of-way, the plan is to begin sometime mid-year.
Durrenberger is appreciative of the county’s working relationship with the City of Brenham, saying, “I don’t think it’s ever been better.” He also commends the county’s team of leadership and believes the best is yet to come.
Durrenberger is in his second term as county judge after initially taking office in 2019 and running unopposed in the 2022 elections.