Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. [126], No. [48], Ed. 1 Thursday, November 29, 2012 Page: 3 of 27
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Hondo Anvil Herald • Thursday, November 29, 2012 • 3A
Devine food pantry may relocate
to vacant county building
By Missy Zinsmeyer
Anvil Herald Reporter
Pet. 4 Commissioner Jerry
Beck recommended that the
food pantry in Devine be al-
lowed to move into the vacant
county building on Teel Drive.
The property has been for sale
following the relocation of
county offices to the current-
location at 317 Hwy 132 North
approximately two years ago.
Beck said, “I was contacted
by a couple of the members of
the food pantry over there in
Devine. They are in the pro-
cess of looking for a place due
to the fact that the building
they are currently, temporari-
ly housed in has sold and they
want them to vacate by the
end of the calendar year.
“We’ve got a building over
there that I think would be
perfect for them. We went and
looked at it. I contacted all the
commissioners,” continued
Beck. “I think if we have some-
body in there using it until it’s
sold, I don’t think it would
take away from the cost of the
building.”
The pantry would be lo-
cated in the back portion of
the building with access to the
rest being restricted.
Pet. 2 Commissioner Larry
Sittre said, “Since I’ve been
on Commissioners Court this
building has been for sale...
and everything we do doesn’t
have to make a profit. We are
here for service. They are doing
a service out there and I feel as
an elected county official, it’s a
good service. We need to keep
that service going.”
Judge James Barden said,
“I think if we get some sort of
agreement that would have
them responsible for the
utilities and show it having a
short-term notice should it be
sold or otherwise leased, that
they would be able to move
out and those kinds of things, I
think we could probably make
it work. I don’t think hav-
ing somebody in there in the
back doing that service would
detract from its ability to be
rented, leased or sold because
it’s not being rented, leased or
sold now.”
In response, Beck said, “In
my conversations with sev-
eral of the members...they
mentioned and agreed to the
utility portion of it. If you want
a signed agreement, that’s
fine. With these individuals,
I think a hand shake is good
enough.”
The judge replied saying, “I
think we probably need it for
our purposes and it can be in
the form of a letter agreement.
I’ll ask our attorney to draft
one if that’s alright and send
it to you and you can talk with
them.”
Beck answered, “Sure....
The only deadline they’ve got
is the end of the year.”
During the course of the
discussion, Pet. 3 Commis-
sioner David Lynch asked if
the county carries liability in-
surance on the building.
Judge Barden addressed the
issue saying, “We need some
formal agreement to hold (the
county) harmless for any-
thing they do to damage it if
we choose to enforce it. Oth-
erwise, I think the insurance
would cover it then if we have
something in writing.”
The vice president of the
food pantry organization said
she believes they have a sup-
plemental liability policy.
The court approved fur-
ther negotiations with formal
authorization expected to be
considered at the December 10
Commissioner Court meeting.
County moves forward with
courthouse stabilization project
By Missy Zinsmeyer
Anvil Herald Reporter
The county has elected to
return to the Texas Historical
Commission with a modified
plan to control soil moisture
under and around the court-
house and move storm water
away from the foundation.
Once approval is secured
from the THC, a formal pro-
posal is expected from Klotz
Associates, engineering firm.
The county will then adver-
tise the project for bids.
Since the summer of 2011,
the county has been engaged
in this project aimed at dis-
covering and alleviating the
cause of cracks and other
signs of shifting within the
structure of the courthouse.
The county enlisted the ser-
vices of Klotz Associates, an
engineering firm represented
by Alan Thompson, and has
been in consultation with the
Texas Historical Commission.
The commission requested
further investigation on two
separate occasions and the
county has met their require-
ments.
Investigations of the court-
house included capturing
and testing of core material
retrieved from the founda-
tion by excavation, visual as-
sessment of the building and
foundation, topographic sur-
veys of the grounds and inte-
rior, photographs taken be-
low ground level, and review
of historical information.
The firm concluded that
wall cracks were related in
part to movement of the
foundation caused by incon-
sistent moisture within the
foundation soil. The ground
at times is very wet and at
others is very dry.
Klotz said, “We did find
that the southeast corner of
the building has a drop. It
is probably related to some
poor or bad floor planks and
joists because they have been
getting wet over the years, so
they probably need to be re-
placed. That probably needs
to be repaired.”
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426-3346
The courthouse is com-
prised of three buildings. The
middle, original structure
was built in J893 with west
and east wings added in J942.
The engineers found that the
three building sections have
shifted independently which
has caused visible cracks. The
three structures are not se-
cured to each other at ground
level or below.
In February, Thompson
presented the county with
three alternatives to address
the problems; install a pe-
rimeter moisture barrier to
keep the foundation dry and
connect the buildings using a
dowel system for an estimat-
ed cost of $450,000; under-
pinning the structures for ap-
proximately $J.5 million; or
keep the soil wet for approxi-
mately $57,000 initially plus
$18,000 annually to operate.
The county chose the mois-
ture barrier system as recom-
mended by the engineer.
“So our original plan was
to build a sidewalk and an
apron around the outside of
the building to get the wa-
ter away from the building
and then install a membrane
down about J2-J5 feet to try
to prevent water from coming
back underneath the build-
ing and water coming out,
so that it would stabilize the
moisture content under the
building and leave it fixed,”
explained Thompson.
The modified plan does not
include the 12-15 foot mem-
brane. Thompson estimates
this change may cut the price
in half. He also recommends
installing a lawn irrigation
system and grading the lawn
for better moisture control.
The engineer explained a
concern of the THC saying,
“One of the issues, if you
look at that cross-section, is
that where the apron meets
the building, the engineers
proposed putting a dowel
there to hold the buildings
together.” According to
Thompson the THC has not
been interested in doweling
into the buildings. Now that
it has been established that
the foundation is built of
stable material, he believes
the THC may approve the
placement of dowel rods
into the foundations to con-
nect them to each other.
If the THC does not approve
doweling into the buildings, a
water stop system can be de-
signed and poured between
the perimeter of the build-
ings and the apron. When ad-
dressing the issue, Thompson
said, “We can get it done. We
will get it done.” He describes
this as a common practice in
heavy construction.
Referring to the founda-
tions and testing of core sam-
ples retrieved by excavation
and drilling, Thompson said,
“In essence what we found
was that the bottom of the
building’s foundation is 4-6
feet below grade. The original
(center) building is founded
on first, some sandstone
blocks, and on top of that, are
some limestone blocks.”
A compressive strength
test measured the limestone
to be approximately 4000
PSI or around 288 tons per
square foot bearing capacity.
He said, “That’s pretty high.”
The geoscientist who per-
formed the tests concluded
that in the seven pits, no de-
terioration was detected.
“This brings us right back
to where we were.. .it is still
just the wetting and drying
of the soils that causes the
problems. It is a pretty stan-
dard thing.”
Judge Jim Barden said, “Es-
sentially the two wings and
the center core are, as you’ve
said, strong. The crack prob-
lems still exist because there
are essentially three differ-
ent foundations.”
Thompson added to
Barden’s comment saying,
“Right and they move sepa-
rately with shrinking and
swelling...They are going to
move separately. That’s just
the way it is until something
keeps them fixed. That is,
they don’t shrink and swell
from moisture change.”
Santa's noT tae only on; who delivers eor Christmas!
A SUBSCRIPTION IS THE GET THAT GVES YEAR ROUHD!
ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES
$32 In County • $37 Out of County • $47 Out of State 7^-- .
CALL TODAY! Or Mail in the name & address of the recipeint r
along with payment, and well get it started! 4 W f
THE HONDO ANVIL HERALD
P.O. Box 400 . Hondo, TX 78861
1601 Ave. K, Hondo . 830-426-3346
County
approves
2013 holiday
schedule
Human Resource Director
Stacey Cameron presented a
proposed 2013 holiday sched-
ule for county offices during
Commissioners Court Monday
morning. The schedule which
includes 11 holidays received
unanimous approval from the
court.
County offices will close on
the following holidays in 2013:
January 1-New Year’s Day; Jan-
uary 21-MLK Day; February
18-President’s Day; March 29-
Good Friday; May 27-Memo-
rial Day; July 4-Independence
Day; September 2-Labor Day;
November 11-Veterans Day;
November 28 and 29-Thanks-
giving; and December 25-
Christmas.
Call Us!
For All
Your
Printing
Needs
The Hondo
Anvil Herald
830-426-3346
1601 Ave. K
Kenneth & Lesley
Verstuyft Family
Benefit
Family’s home
burned Nov. 3rd
BBQ Brisket Plate
w/ trimmings & drink $7
Sunday, Dec. 2*11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Eugene Verstuyft Bldg, in Sabinal
• No advance tickets needed •
FUMC Christmas Live Nativity
Please Join Us!
Date: Dec. 1st
Time: 4:00 p.m. ‘til 6:00 p.m.
1
*1!
Come join us in celebration of the birth of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God...
This live nativity is presented by
the First United Methodist Church
for free public viewing
on the west lawn at Ave. K and 16th Street,
across from the Hondo County Court House.
First United Methodist Church
Rev. Andy Tyson, Pastor
On the corner of Are. K & 16th St.
830426-2073
Late night
shopping and
small tov|i!^A
hospitality
>64
7/7,'
December 1st - 4 to 8pm
Join us for the 3rd Annual Hometown Holiday, and
be sure to bring the family Enjoy Hondos historic
downtown - three square blocks chock-full of
shopping and family-friendly holiday activities.
77tere will be snow. And, of course, Santa. So grab a
cup of hot cider and enjoy the simple life with us.
Just a sampling of the activities we have
in store for you:
Come play in the snow
^ Posada
+ Carolers
Music
<¥> Hayrides
^ Dancers and entertainment
Cookies and Cocoa
^ Christmas tree lighting
r j^L Decorated Cupcake contest
(bring it decorated)
c4|l Children's play area
U Xa K)
X'
HONDO
HOMETOWN
HOLIDAY
Contact the Chamber of
Commerce for more info
Tel; (830) 426-3037 or
info@hondochamber.com
www.HondoChamber.com
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Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. [126], No. [48], Ed. 1 Thursday, November 29, 2012, newspaper, November 29, 2012; Hondo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth741348/m1/3/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hondo Public Library.