Work begins on courthouse project

The sounds of jackhammers filled the square last Thursday as work began on the restoration of the 1890 Donley County Courthouse.

Commissioners met in called session October 17 and approved a $2.78 million contract with Phoenix 1 Restoration and Construction of Dallas. The signing follows months of negotiations as the contractor, the county, its architects, and the Texas Historical Commission worked together to bring the cost down after the only bid came in $1 million over budget.

Phoenix’s project manager Dwight Smith says the concrete removal, foundation work, and plaster removal will be the first objectives his six-man team will tackle.

The concrete steps and porch of the building’s main entrance were history by last Friday. Smith says this week workers will be drilling 30-foot holes for new 30-inch concrete piers, which will anchor the tower and its new third story. Existing foundations for the tower only go four feet below grade.

Inside the building, workers are taking plaster off the walls and removing doors to be refinished.

Smith is excited about the local job and has worked on courthouse restorations in Rockwell and Ellis counties.

“I think it’s going to be a great project,” Smith said. “People I’ve met in town have been cordial and very nice. We’re looking forward to a successful project.”

Several items had to be given up in order for the Donley project to go forward. Rehabilitation and replacement of the exterior sandstone was the single costliest item to be deleted from the project. That work would have cost an estimated $250,000. The stonework can still be done at a future time and might be added back into the project if the county can get the funds donated.

Project architect Chris Hutson said the stonework would not have been deleted, but the contractor assured his office that the building could still be sealed from moisture and the masonry repointed without replacing the faulty stones.

Several other job options were also deleted but are not expected to impact the historic nature of the building nor prevent it from being used as a modern courthouse.

The county also found other creative ways to save money. For example, the concrete debris from the steps and other areas was originally to have been hauled off to a landfill. The county instead plans to use that rubble as fill on a bridge project, thus saving landfill fees. Plaster rubble will similarly be re-used by the county.

John Kiehl of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission is administering the grant for the county and says the project is being carried out in the most cost-effective manner possible, despite the opinions of some local residents.

“The county has pursued every savings avenue possible in an effort to keep this project in line with the original estimates,” Kiehl said in a fax to the Enterprise. “Unfortunately, the bid the county had to work with exceeded those estimates by roughly $1 million, and only through diligent efforts has the county been able to cut that overage by nearly 75 percent.

Kiehl says the project at completion will cost the county $67.80 per square foot, which he says is a bargain compared to other courthouse restorations.