County considers fire, lightning protection

Donley County Commissioners voted to give Judge Jack Hall the authority to add certain items back into the Courthouse Restoration Project when the court met in regular session Monday. The items would only be added back if the county has no choice but to do so.

Among the items that were deleted to reduce the cost of the budget were the lightening protection system, a standpipe for fire protection, and a fire-rated door in the first floor corridor. But the county’s grant administrator, John Kiehl with the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission (PRPC), told the court it may become necessary to add those items back into the job.

The county is still waiting for a final determination as to whether City Fire Marshal Duane Garman will allow the removal of the standpipe and fire-rated door, Kiehl said. Officials had hoped to eliminate the $8,000 standpipe and the $1,050 door and instead rely on a nearby fire hydrant in case of a blaze.

“You know you could say, ‘Well, there hasn’t been a fire in the courthouse for 111 years,’ but then just today there was a fire in the Santa Fe Building,” Kiehl said, referring to Potter County’s recently restored office building in Amarillo.

Kiehl also said he thought the Texas Historical Commission (THC) may become adamant that the 1890 building have some form of lightning arrestor system. The system is estimated to cost $12,540, but officials hope to negotiate with the contractor to find a less expensive system to accomplish the same goal.

Kiehl said it was necessary to give the county judge the authority to act quickly in case the fire marshal or the THC decides to require the items.

“We’re getting to a point where the demolition work will be finished and things will be going into the courthouse instead of coming out,” Kiehl said. “These [items] have to be done in a certain order to keep the project moving.”

Phoenix 1 Restoration’s Dwight Smith says the project is on schedule. Scaffolding is expected to be erected soon around the exterior, and parts of the roof will be coming off soon to make way for the third story tower and dormers.

In other county business, commissioners decided to give $2,500 to the Donley County Jr. Livestock Association Building Fund and $500 to Lori Leffew for her secretarial work during last week’s livestock show. The money will come from salaries which were budgeted but not spent in the Extension Office.

Chris Sharp with the PRPC addressed the court regarding a proposed resolution to enact and enforce a floodplain management program as set fort by National Flood Insurance Program Regulations. Sharp said the resolution is necessary as part of a grant the county is seeking following flood damage around the county last spring.

If approved, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would create floodplain maps of Donley County. It would then be the county’s responsibility to furnish those maps upon request when a developer wishes to build in the county. The court took no action on this item to give commissioners time to read the actual regulations.

A contract with OJD Engineering to repair and rehabilitate the bridges over Troublesome Creek and Mulberry Creek was approved.

The court authorized the Courthouse Annex hallway and Conference Room to be used for the Democratic Primary on March 12, 2002.

Commissioners approved sending the county clerk and her deputy to a training seminar in Amarillo and sending the judge’s secretary to training in Austin.

County officials were declared ineligible to serve on the County Grievance Committee, and a list of names to serve on that committee was drawn from the Grand Jury list. A letter will be sent to those people asking them to serve.

And the court approved the annual audit report as presented by Gordon Maddox.