Dateline: April 25, 2002

County seeks to meet $50k grant challenge 

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

All deferred items have been added back into the Donley County Courthouse Restoration project thanks to numerous donations. Now officials say the county has an opportunity to begin putting items back in the job that were originally deleted from the contract.

The opportunity has been made possible by a challenge grant that will match new contributions dollar for dollar up to a total of $50,000.

“We’re extremely grateful for all the donations we’ve received thus far,” Donley County Historical Commission Chair Jean Stavenhagen said. “With this challenge grant, any new donations will be doubled. A $100 donation will become $200, and a $1,000 donation will become $2,000. Your money will go twice as far to finish the project and restore the Donley County Courthouse as the Jewel of the Plains.”

If this new grant challenge is met, decorative metal roof ornaments and the replacement of deteriorating exterior stonework will be put back into the project

Some of the formerly deferred items which have been reinstated thanks to successful fundraising include sanding and refinishing wood floors, carpet for offices, refinishing stairs, restoring and refinishing doors and transoms, repairing the tile floor in the main corridor, painting, and metal doors in the basement.

Major funding for the restoration project was obtained in 2000 through the Texas Historical Commission (THC), but for the past six months, Donley County Commissioners have been struggling to find a way to fully fund the restoration the 1890 Donley County Courthouse after the lowest bid exceeded the estimate prepared by the architect by nearly $1 million.

In order to bring the cost down, Commissioners reduced the scope of the project and then deferred other work until April 15, 2002. Thanks to the generous contributions of individuals, businesses, and organizations, county commissioners met in a called session last Monday and added the deferred work back into the construction.

Those interested in supporting this historic restoration are asked to contact Jean Stavenhagen at (806) 874-3905. Donations of any size may be sent to the Donley County Courthouse Preservation Fund, PO Box 825, Clarendon, TX 79226.

In other courthouse project news, interior work on the Donley County Courthouse is coming along rapidly, Phoenix I project manager Stephen Dodge said at a construction conference last Friday.

Fifty percent of the trim work and 75 to 80 percent of the rough-in has been done on the first floor. Most of the trim has been finished on the second floor and is ready for plaster. Mechanical work continues in the basement and on the third floor.

Plastering is nearly complete on second floor rooms east of the courtroom, and the courtroom itself should get a third coat of plaster this week.

Paint and stain colors will be chosen soon. Architects with Volz & Associates were here Friday to gather paint chip samples. They will do a microscopic analysis to attempt to deduce the original colors used in the building.

Woodwork used in the courthouse has finally been positively identified. It is a Colorado white pine trim with California redwood panels. Project officials agreed the California redwood is rarely found in Texas courthouses, and head carpentry subcontractor Richard Oberhaus believes the original builders were heavily influenced by their work in Colorado.

Architect John Volz says the Donley courthouse will be one of the most beautiful his firm as worked on because of the woodwork in the building.

Trenches for utilities are expected to be dug in the next two weeks, and AEP set new transformers for the building on Monday.

Subcontractors are currently working to resolve sizing problems with HVAC floor grilles and recessed electric fixtures on the first floor.

The Texas Historical Commission has disallowed the use of ceiling fans in the district courtroom since they were not original. The architects believe the air-conditioning system should provide sufficient airflow.

One area where the project in danger of falling behind schedule is the masonry work as contractors continue to look for a replacement brick. Acme brick in Tulsa, Okla., was reported to be the only manufacturer interested in the job. That company purchased new forms to make the right size brick.

The color of the new bricks is close, but the bricks have a sheen to them. Volz is looking into a new European micro-abrasion technique that might age the brick slightly to remove the sheen.

Repairs on masonry behind the metal cornices is on hold awaiting a report from a structural engineer. Water damage of the last century has loosened some of the facing brick and contributed to the deterioration of the backing brick.