Repairing the 1890 Donley County Courthouse took another step forward December 28 when the commissioners’ court accepted a $448,500 bid from Premier Commercial Group, LLC.
The Panhandle’s oldest functioning courthouse received extensive damage almost a year ago when an arctic storm froze water lines in the building’s heating and cooling system in the attic, destroying the county attorney’s office and flooding other areas.
After months of work to extract water from the building, assess the damage, and develop a plan to restore the building, County Judge John Howard said commissioners met in a called session on Friday, December 17, to open bids on repairs.
Premier’s bid of $448,500 was the lowest of the three and the company’s estimated time for repairs – 70 days – was about half that of the other two bidders. Howard said architect Chris Hutson recommended Premier after reviewing the bids. Premier has worked on five historic courthouses in Texas, and its owner has worked on about 17 historic courthouses in total and was a partner in Phoenix I, when that company oversaw the 2003 restoration of the Donley County Courthouse.
Phoenix I also bid on the repair work but had the high bid at $498,300 and estimated taking 135 days to complete the work. Plains Builders also submitted a bid of $460,000 and expected to take 153 days for the work, but Plains did not have the historic restoration experience of the other two bidders.
The county will now proceed to develop a contract with Premier so that a start date can be set for the repairs.
In other county business on December 17, commissioners revised their earlier action on voting precincts to reinstate a voting location for Precinct 3 voters in Hedley.
The county also adopted a new order on its current burn ban, clearly stating that that violating the burn ban is a misdemeanor crime with a maximum fine of $500.
During the called meeting on December 28, the county also held a public hearing on a proposed Community Resiliency Program grant application attended by representatives of the Donley County Hospital District and the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission. The grant, if approved, would provide 100 percent funds for a new ambulance for the hospital district, Judge Howard said.
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