Taylor County commissioners accepted a $5.98 million grant from the Texas Historical Commission on Tuesday to help renovate the county's 1915 Taylor County Courthouse.
Competition for the grant was "rigorous," Taylor County Judge Downing Bolls told commissioners, with Historical Commission noting that out of 21 applications, it selected three major construction projects, two emergency projects and four planning projects.
Total requests for this round of grants was more than $100 million, according to the Commission, but with a budget of only $25 million in state appropriations, just over $20 million was awarded statewide.
The Commission said that the grant would help the county revitalize a historic part of the county, bolster pride through "restoration of a treasured landmark," and create a "safer, more functional building."
Important move
Commissioners last year moved into the 1915 Courthouse following the creation of a Child Protective Services court in their former meeting place at 300 Oak St.
Commissioner Chuck Statler said moving the court to the 1915 Courthouse at 301 Oak St. from its original location at 300 Oak St., helped bump the project up the Historical Commissions' priority list.
Reading from the letter he sent to the Commission, Bolls noted that the work toward Tuesday's grant acceptance began almost 20 years ago, when the county submitted its first master plan for the courthouse.
"They believed then what we still believe today, that history is important, and what we fail to learn from our history can greatly impact where we are headed as a county today and tomorrow," he said. "This county's historic courthouse ties together our past, our present and our future."
The courthouse now serves as an "active courthouse," Bolls said, and serves as a public space around a "growing, centralized business core" in the form of the city's developing SoDA District.
"In that regard, it really is connecting the past with the future," he said. "... Despite its outward appearances and internal creaks, the work of this county and the importance of our historic courthouse today is no less important than the day it was dedicated."
That is why commissioners have "taken the bold steps" to hire an architect and update its master plan, Bolls said, working with the Historical Commission to create "a shovel-ready plan to help move us forward."
Commissioner Randy Williams said that while the news came at an unfortunate time, given continued concerns about COVID-19, he noted that the process "started well over two years ago, just in terms of trying to secure this funding from the state."
Costly project
In an email Tuesday, Tamra Lewis, Taylor County administrative assistant, said an updated materials cost for full restoration of the 1915 Courthouse is "a little over $14 million."
"The balance of that (minus the grant) would be $9 million that the county would need to complete the full restoration of the proposed plans provided by the architect, Stanley Graves with Architexas," Lewis said.
Plumbing and electrical work, a new HVAC system, new windows, and a new elevator are needed, as is work on the building's interior fire stairwell and front entrance for those with disabilities.
Restoration of the two-story District Courtroom is another major component, she said.
Exterior stonework will need to be cleaned, and new sidewalks, new landscaping, underground electrical work and removal of the parking lot behind the courthouse are also part of the project.
A 'collecting place'
The 1915 building is an example of Classical Revival design, standing three stories and encircled by Ionic columns, according to a Texas Historical Commission article.
Designed by George Burnett of Waco, the 1915 Courthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
"This courthouse will be a collecting place for people not only during the daytime, but after hours," Bolls said. "It'll have green space around it. It'll have benches. The outside appearance of this courthouse and the inside appearance will go back to the way it looked in 1915. And it's going to be a real treasure for the community. And we're very excited about it."
In other business, commissioners:
► Discussed estimates of repairs for the county's Law Enforcement Center, roughly around $3 million.
"The LEC is another project that is in need of repairs ... to fix water runoff from coming into the basement of the building off of Oak Street," Lewis said in an email.
Half of the repair cost will be used to replace the building's existing HVAC system and update the 1980s model elevator, Lewis said.
Courtroom construction for two Justices of the Peace and Constable Precinct 1 will be needed to move those offices to the first floor of the building, she said. The Community Supervision Corrections Department will move to the building's second floor.
► Extended the county's COVID-19 disaster declaration for another 30 days.
Bolls noted that local numbers are growing recently, and prevention measures should continue to be observed.
Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
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