City soliciting firms for pool design

Clarendon is moving forward with a $1.9 million pool project following last week’s city council meeting with a goal of opening the facility for the summer of 2019.

City aldermen voted June 14 to formally solicit qualified firms to design the project by publishing a Request for Qualifications, which is required under the terms of a grant received through the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD).

The action follows the recommendation of the city’s Water Recreation Steering Committee, which met June 5 and voted to move forward with the $1.9 million that is already on hand or committed for the project rather than trying to continue to raise additional funds to meet the original design, which held an estimated price of $2.085 million.

The city will also follow the committee’s recommendation that elements needing to be cut from the project should be bid as alternates so they might be added back in if additional money is donated in the next few months.

Aldermen also voted Thursday to move the funds for the water recreation project into the city’s investment pool, which city officials said could generate an additional $30,000 for the project over the next year.

The council approved an agreement with the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission to administer the TPWD grant for the city.

Donations are still welcome for the project and can be made by contacting City Administrator David Dockery at 806-874-3438.

In other city business, Dockery reported the USDA grant/loan closing agreement was completed last week, clearing the way for a $3.9 million water infrastructure improvement project to begin. He said Clarendon is taking on improvements like never before.

“These are absolute milestones for the City of Clarendon,” Dockery said, regarding the pool project and the USDA grant/loan project. “This is a very significant time for the city, and I’m proud to be here and serving this community.”

Dockery noted that the two projects amount to almost $6 million and that half of that money is coming from grants or donations.

The city council also voted last week to award $1,000 to the Bread of Life from the community development fund, to rescind a previous action closing portions of Bugbee Avenue and Allen Street, and to elect Alderman Larry Jeffers as the city’s mayor pro-tem.