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Old Jail to remain with Historical Commission
The fate of the Old Jail has been resolved. It will remain in the hands of the Pecos County Historical Commission.
No bids were presented to the Pecos County Commissioners Court during its regular meeting Monday morning. The court had set a deadline of 11 a.m. Monday for groups or individuals to submit a bid.
Longfellow Ranch Partners LLP withdrew its proposal to renovate and lease the 125-year-old building following the death of Longfellow employee Drew Slater.
"The Old Jail will continue to operate just like it is," County Judge Joe Shuster said. "It will continue as it is, with the Pecos County Historical Commission."
It was an anticlimactic ending to several months of often rancorous debate regarding the future of the Old Jail. Timothy Hayter, business manager for Longfellow, officially withdrew the company's proposal in a letter to Shuster dated Oct. 20.
Referring to Drew Slater's death, Hayter said the company's focus has been redirected from the project. He said the project would require considerable time and money, and he added that Longfellow felt its corporate efforts could be better expended in other areas.
"Additionally, from a practical standpoint, with all of the restrictions placed on the project, both through reasonable negotiation with the 'Old Jail Committee' and unreasonable outside political pressure from an opposing group, it is simply not feasible for us to follow through with the project," Hayter said.
In the original proposal, Longfellow's Allie Slater, the wife of Drew Slater, had proposed spending as much as $200,000 to replace the roof and complete other renovations, according to a July 29 letter to Shuster.
The first floor was to be used as office space by Longfellow, with a 20-year lease at an annual rent payment of $25,000.
The original proposal said that if during the term of the lease Longfellow were to have outgrown the available space, the company would have terminated the lease and returned the building to the county with all the improvements.
If Longfellow were to have spent more than $200,000 in renovating the Old Jail, the excess would have been recovered through rent reductions, Allie Slater said in the letter. Longfellow could have also renewed the lease for an additional 10 years.
Longfellow would have also donated $200,000 to the Historical Commission. Those funds would have been available to use as the commission determined in the preservation of buildings of historical significance.
The demise of the Longfellow bid was not unexpected following the death of Drew Slater, who was shot multiple times in his home Oct. 3. David Michael Myers has been charged with capital murder in the death and remains in the Pecos County Law Enforcement Center in lieu of $500,000 bond.
"The response from Longfellow was to be expected, considering the circumstances," Precinct 3 Commissioner Jay Kent said.
Betty Hargus, who chairs the Historical Commission, said the commission will continue to work for the preservation and renovation of the Old Jail. She said the Historical Commission still envisions the Old Jail's transformation into a law enforcement museum.
"We don't have a timeline," Hargus said. "We plan to seek grants to fix the walls and the roof. ... We're going to do it the best we can, as we can."
Among other business, the court:
>> approved the awarding of a bid for the sale of surplus metals from Precincts 1-4 to Integrated Recycling Services out of Del Rio; according to its bid, Integrated Recycling Services will pay $40 per ton for the metals, based upon the current market value of the materials; Integrated Recycling Services will provide services for the removal and recycling of the discarded metals at the precincts
>> approved the order of three new vehicles for the Pecos County Sheriff's Office for delivery after Jan. 1
>> approved amending a contract to accept Smith Helicopter Aircraft Liability and Workers Compensation with no other general liability
>> authorized Shuster to sign Lone Star Libraries grants for Imperial Public Library, Iraan Public Library and Fort Stockton Public Library; the Fort Stockton Public Library is expected to receive $6,508, the Iraan Public Library $3,997 and the Imperial Public Library $3,636
>> approved a new entrance/exit driveway for the Pecos County Memorial Hospital Wellness Center; the cost is expected to be $9,000
>> approved the transfer of funds, the payment of overtime and accounts payable for PCMH
>> approved the payment of county overtime, presented by County Treasurer Barry McCallister
>> approved the line item transfers, the budget amendments, the reports of county offices and all accounts, presented by the county auditor's office
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