Morgan Wheatly

Donley County Commissioners were in budget negotiations this week as they try to cope with rising expenses.

Judge Jack Hall said the Commissioners Court met in regular session Monday and were reconvening in a called meeting Tuesday as the Enterprise went to press. He expected the court to finish its work that day but had another called session planned for Wednesday if needed.

On Monday, the court issued a memo to all county offices asking them to make no further non-mandatory expenditures – including travel, overtime, and supplies – for the current fiscal year which ends September 30.

“We’re in good shape and want to finish in good shape,” Hall said. “We have two months to go, and every bill has gone up just like everyone else.”

In addition to the usual increasing expenses, such as fuel and health insurance, commissioners are still coping with the expense of trying convicted child murderer Robert Babcock.

That case cost the county about $57,000 in the last fiscal year, and Hall said more expenses could still trickle in. In the coming year, the county is setting aside another $50,000 in case Babcock files an appeal.

Hall said state mandated expenses are also hurting the county, and he specifically pointed to about $37,000 Donley County spent on indigent legal defense expenses in addition to the Babcock case where only $30,000 was budgeted.

Commissioners are considering a “slight increase” in taxes, have eliminated one part-time position in the clerk’s office, and are not planning on any raises for county employees this year.

A gleaming new face on the Mulkey Theatre should be completed in a few months as the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation takes the first steps in a $123,000 refurbishment of the building’s façade.

The CEDC Board approved soliciting a general contractor for the project after architect Mason Rogers presented his proposal for Phase One of the Mulkey project Monday evening. Proposals from contractors will be reviewed by the board on August 20 with the hopes of completing this phase before the end of the year.

CEDC President Sherol Johnston said she glad to be moving forward with the Mulkey and said the money is on hand to complete this part of the renovations.

The scope of work will include replacing stucco on the façade with a new EFIS material that is flexible and infused with the paint color, which should last at least 50 years. Contractors will also be correcting the pitch of the marquee so that water on the overhang’s roof drains properly, and badly damage stucco work on the underside of the marquee will be replaced.

New aluminum doors will be fabricated to match existing doors that have either been damaged or are difficult to use, and a new electrical service capable of supporting the entire building will be installed. Damaged tiles will be repaired or replaced, and the corrugated accent on the center of the façade will be refinished.

The project also calls for neon or LED lighting to be restored on the underside of the marquee and for new neon or LED tubing to be added in the porthole windows and along the top of the building.

“We’ve got the money for this, but we’ll still need donations to get to the inside,” said CEDC Vice President Bill Stavenhagen. “It will be a million-dollar building when we get through.”

Stavenhagen said prices for construction projects of this type are astounding and that the project will cost more than he had hoped.

“I don’t think anyone on our board thought it would be this much,” he said. “But then we didn’t think we’d spend $50,000 on the new roof either. That cost us more than the building was worth at the time.”

The architect’s estimate for Phase Two of the Mulkey renovation is $899,600 and doesn’t include the price of new seating, but CEDC board members agreed that Phase Two may have to be broken into smaller phases to complete the theatre for its intended new use not only as movie house but also as conference and visitors center. The board is also investigating private foundation grants.

“We’ll just take it one step at a time,” Stavenhagen said. “That’s all we can do.”

The board also took action Monday to approve replacing glass on the Mulkey marquee faces – much of which was damaged by hail – with new translucent acrylic material, and Johnston reported that Ferrol Shelton had volunteered to repair damaged plaster in the former Mulkey barbershop as part of the renovation of that area as a visitor’s center and economic development office.

Clarendon College Regents approved the hiring of six new employees during their July meeting as CC gets ready for its fall session.

The new personnel are expected to bring great individual qualities to CC, President Phil Shirley said.

“I feel like we made great gains in these new hires,” he said. “We’ve strengthened our coaching staff and personnel. These are quality people who fit into our Clarendon College family.”

The new hires are cross country coach Zachary Leggett, baseball coach Devin McIntosh, enrollment services counselor/recruiter Becky Green, vocational nursing instructor Daniel Trejo, women’s basketball coach Brad Vanden-Boogaard, and assistant softball coach / Knorpp Hall director Aljandra Rodriquez. Additionally, the board approved reassigning Kory Dunn to be director of the vocational nursing program and making Kim Layton the cheerleading coach.

Regents Vice-Chair Jerry Woodard, who was presiding, raised the issue of personnel living outside of the college district, and a discussion followed, particularly regarding Athletic Director John Green and new enrollment services counselor Becky Green. The couple is continuing to reside in Borger because they have a daughter in high school there, but the athletic director does reside in and oversee a college dorm.

The board discussed encouraging department heads and senior staff to reside in Clarendon or Donley County as a requirement of their employment, but no action was taken.

“The board prefers employees live in the district,” Shirley said, “but they stopped short of requiring it.”

In other college news, the board set August 16 as the date of its budget workshop. Regents also approved purchasing a new Toyota sedan for the president at a cost of $36,600, and discussed studying the Stanley Automotive property on the east side of Clarendon for use by the college.

The board also approved renewing insurance coverage and workers’ compensation coverage through the Texas Association of School Boards, approved an RFP to purchase athletic insurance, and authorized a letter of engagement for the 2011-2012 audit.

Regents approved a 2012-2013 agreement with K-9 Detection Services.

By Roger Estlack & Fred Gray

The Hedley ISD school board named the lone finalist for the vacant superintendent position in a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday night, August 6. Bill Sanders was selected to be the next superintendent, and will take office after a 21-day mandatory waiting period.

Mr. Sanders is currently the principal of Poolville Junior High School, in Poolville, TX. He has been a coach, teacher, and principal in a career lasting 19 years, in districts ranging from A to 5-A. Mr. Sanders also has taught special education in high school.

He has earned a BS in Education from Mary Hardin Baylor University, an M.B.A. from the University of Texas Permian Basin, and a Masters in Education Administration from Tarleton State University.

In other business, the Hedley ISD will just about break even on the budget for the current school year ending at the end of this month.

Next year, the 2012-2013 budget projects a shortfall of $51,423. Hedley ISD does have a reserve account, totaling about $650,000, which can be used to cover the projected budget deficit.

Additionally, Hedley’s student count is dropping with declining enrollments expected to continue into the future. The board discussed strategies to increase student enrollment in the future. The board will announce plans to combat declining enrollment within the next few weeks.

By Fred Gray