County receives $50k from challenge grant

Donley County met with a reversal of fortune of the best kind last week with the news it had successfully met the requirements of a $50,000 challenge grant.

The challenge grant came from an anonymous Texas-based foundation which earlier this year donated $100,000 to the restoration of the 1890 courthouse.

Donations from local individuals, businesses, and organizations, as well as a supplemental grant of $185,000 from the state, have more than satisfied the requirements of the challenge grant. Donley County received the $50,000 check last week.

“We’re really happy and fortunate to have these funds because it is going to allow us to add some additional stonework to the project,” said County Judge Jack Hall. “We’re just very pleased.”

The new funds together with $350,000 in additional tax notes issued by the county this fall have placed the county in the position of having an estimated $326,000 in excess funds for the project.

Hall said the county hopes to use part of that money for debt reduction but also wants to take care of some work that is not currently called for in the project such as sidewalk repair and replacement.

Commissioners met Monday to consider what if anything should be added to the project now that extra funds are available.

“It’s just human nature that if you don’t do things now on this project, they will probably never get done,” said grant administrator John Kiehl of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission.

The Commissioners’ Court discussed using the $50,000 challenge grant to replace or repair the worst of the deteriorating stonework on the building. The original scope of work called for repairing all the bad stones, but that part of the project was eliminated last year when the sole bid for the job came in nearly $1 million over budget.

Commissioners also discussed repairing the large stained glass window on the east side of the building and restoring artwork on original vault doors. Both items were eliminated from the project last year. A flood lighting system for the exterior of the building and a speaker system for the district courtroom were mentioned as other priorities which need to be added to the project.

Judge Jack Hall said commissioners also need to consider refinishing antique furniture for the building and preparing a display cabinet for relics found during the restoration.

“I believe that all the furniture which has come out of that building needs to be sanded, stained, varnished, and put back into the courthouse,” Hall said.

Some original courthouse furnishings are currently in the Courthouse Annex or other offices, and other pieces are in storage.

Commissioners agreed that professional services would be needed for the top priority items of the stained glass window repair, the vault door preservation, the exterior up-lighting, the speaker system, and the stone rehabilitation work. Other items such as furniture repair and restoration and window treatments might be done cheaper using local firms and talent.

The court will meet in a called session in conjunction with the contractor’s next construction update conference to discuss added priorities for the project. A date for that meeting had not been set at press time.