Decisions delayed on Civic Center work
By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com

With more than $1.1 million in proposed improvements at the El Campo Civic Center on the table, City Council opted to delay any decisions until after the May 10 election which could dramatically change municipal representation.

With one at-large Council seat left vacant since the November resignation of Kyle Smith, there will be at least one new face on City Council in May.

In addition, incumbents Phillip Spenrath and Kenneth Martin are facing five challengers.

"I'd like to have a full Council," Councilman Robert Boone said before making the motion at last week's meeting. "There may be some things out there we don't need to do."

During the session, RWS Architect Malcolm Gaus presented city leaders with prices for a Civic Center "wish list" created during a March workshop where Council members toured each room of the facility.

"These are the budgeted numbers depending on what you choose. You have to make a decision," he told Council.

That list - which offers multiple variations on items like moving and removing lobby display cases and adding a separate museum entrance - provides an extra roughly $130,000 of improvements to the building.

That's in addition to the original $1 million already budgeted for Civic Center renovations scheduled. Most of that estimate is dedicated to a new roof, ceiling, floors, lighting and paint, although there is also $100,000 built in for a new building facade.

Columns are included in that budgeting to help stabilize the main hall although asbestos glue in floor tiles was not figured into the initial project. If all flooring is removed as opposed to tiled over, asbestos abatement could add more than $50,000 to all estimated prices.

Some flooring will have to be removed due to tears, seams and bubbles, but Gaus told Council some may be able to be covered over.

"I recommend you decide what areas you want to treat. The lobby is critical. It is where you want to put your best foot forward," he told Council.

The RWS figures are estimates, no bids have been let on any portion of the project.

Those bids will depend on material costs and could vary from estimates.

In a 5-1 vote with Councilwoman Gloria Harris against, city leaders said they would table any Civic Center decisions until the May 13 meeting - after results of the May 10 election are known.

Harris chided Council for the delay. "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today," she said.

The Civic Center is scheduled to be shut down August through October to allow for renovations and repairs.

The last events scheduled at the Civic Center before renovations start are meetings - one in the afternoon and one in the evening on Thursday, July 31.

Bookings resume immediately after the repair window with a wedding reception scheduled Saturday, Nov. 1.

"It (the work) has to be done, it has to be. It has to be finished. You can't cancel these wedding receptions," City Secretary Cindy Cerny said Monday.