Bastrop County seeks grants to repair historic courthouse, old jail

Austin American-Statesman (TX)

May 21--Bastrop County is seeking up to $500,000 in grant funding for repairs to the county's historic courthouse and old jail stemming from damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.

The county is vying for a portion of a $12.3 million grant the state was awarded by the National Park Service designated for repairs to historical buildings damaged by the Category 4 hurricane in 2017. Each individual project can receive up to $250,000 and will not require local matching funds.

The county is hoping to win grant funding for two projects: the repair of the historic courthouse and the old historic jail, which has been closed since early 2018 after asbestos was discovered in the building.

Hurricane damage on both buildings include busted window sealant, roofing damage and structural issues, among other things, county purchasing agent Leon Scaife said.

Bastrop County commissioners approved amendments to a contract with Architexas that will allow the architectural consultant to apply for the grants on the county's behalf.

Plans for the repairs will have to coincide with the proposal for the historic jail's asbestos remediation, a project that still has an unknown price tag 15 months after the carcinogen was found in the building.

In February 2018, Bastrop County officials evacuated county employees from the historic jail as soon as county officials learned that storm damage caused by Hurricane Harvey to the building exposed employees to asbestos. The old jailhouse, which sits adjacent to the county courthouse, had asbestos-infused plaster that was damaged and was releasing the carcinogen into the air.

The nine employees who worked out of the jailhouse -- which became an administrative building in 1974 -- had potentially been exposed to the asbestos for about six months. Many of them now work out of the Grady Tuck Building on Loop 150 in Bastrop.

It's not clear if the building will require total remediation or remediation only in certain areas. Scaife said that remediation work will also need to be conducted on any areas that will be repaired using grant funding.

Because asbestos remediation is not covered by the county's insurance company, the full cost of the work will come from the county's budget, officials said. It is not clear when a total cost will be known or when the project will be bid out to a remediation company.

The historic jailhouse, along with the county courthouse, was built in the late 19th century, and both buildings were nominated for listing on the national register in 1975. The courthouse was given a top-to-bottom renovation in the 1990s.

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