“It would be better to wait, that way we can see what kind of money we have left in the budget,” said Simer. “This way we don’t come up short.”
Commissioner Emma Brown agreed with Simer, but Commissioners Bill Crooker and Jerry Kilgore said they see it differently.
“It’s going to have to be done,” said Crooker. “My feeling is we should go ahead and look into this and take care of it now.”
Project architect Jeff Heffelfinger told the court the only drawback to waiting until the completion of the project is the county’s liability in the meantime.
“Because we know what has asbestos in it — for example, the tiles laying on the ground outside the building — we can’t legally pick them up,” said Heffelfinger. “If we don’t go ahead with demolition of the buildings, we’ll need to secure them so a vagrant doesn’t end up going inside and getting hurt. My suggestion would be to fence off the buildings completely, so you not only protect people from what’s inside, but also what’s on the outside.”
Heffelfinger said tests showed the buildings had several items containing asbestos — from textured dry wall to floor tile adhesive and loose panels on the buildings’ interiors and exteriors — and would cost between $30,000 and $40,000 to abate.
“The funds in the project’s contingency plan will cover it,” said Heffelfinger. “Asbestos was also found in some of the roofing materials, but its an encapsulated asbestos, so it doesn’t have to be abated.”
Heffelfinger also informed the court the majority of the concrete that was located on the jail site has been removed by Eddy Jameson, director of the county’s road and bridge department, and his teams.
“They’ve been a tremendous help,” said Heffelfinger. “The dirt work is something contractors sometimes drag their feet on in a project like this, but that’s certainly not going to be a problem here.”
Heffelfinger said all property intended for the $11.57 million jail, approved by voters in November, has been acquired by the county and no problems regarding land titles have been encountered.
The court voted unanimously to replat the property, which is currently comprised of several smaller lots located in two different subdivisions — a process Heffelfinger said will simplify matters as construction begins.
“Right now we’re on target to begin construction March 15,” Heffelfinger told the court. “That would allow us to complete the project before the end of the year. Everything is moving along smoothly. Next week we’re going to begin looking at the electronics — cameras, software, etc. — for the facility.”
County Judge Mark Barr said he expects the commissioners court will issue the $11.57 million in bonds Monday.
Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at
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