Hall County voters to accept, deny funding for restoration of courthouse
Special to The Sun
MEMPHIS — Hall County voters will have the opportunity to accept or deny the Texas Historical Commission’s Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program (THCPP) funding for the restoration of the Hall County Courthouse in an upcoming bond election, which will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.
The grant totals $6 million and will be used to fund more than half of the restoration costs of the Hall County Courthouse. The original estimate was just under $7 million in September 2019,but due to inflation, complete restoration of the courthouse is now estimated to cost roughly $9.23 million, according to Hall County Judge Ray Powell.
The county will be required to fund the additional nearly $4 million of restoration costs. This will be by utilizing Certificates of Obligation for 30 years currently at 4.5%, totaling a payback of $7.35 million. Citizens can expect to see a tax increase of 0.0842 per hundred dollar tax valuation.
“The drought conditions we are currently experiencing cause concern for the county’s citizens in facing a tax increase,” Powell said, explaining that the county is looking into additional grants to help lower the county’s cost portion of the restoration. “There are no solar farms, no wind energy production and no oil exploration in our county to fund a substantial tax increase.”
However, if the THCPP funding is denied by voters, the county will still be required to purchase upwards of $3.5 million in Certificates of Obligation to complete necessary rehabilitations, including electrical and plumbing restoration, replacement of the roof, replacement or update of the current elevator, upgrade of the building’s heating and air conditioning system and more – a cost which will also raise the tax rate, according to Powell.
“The wiring in the courthouse is from 1923, when construction of the current courthouse was completed,” Powell said.“We have window air conditioning units in the summer and open gas heaters in the winter to cool and heat the rooms. In addition, the leaking roof of the building must be replaced, and the plumbing of the courthouse must be upgraded.”
“We wish to utilize Certificates of Obligation, authorized by Texas Local Government Code Chapter 271, Subchapter C, to come up with the funds,” Powell clarified. “The county will be required to establish an Interest and Sinking Fund (ISF) Account, which will be used to deposit and disburse funds for restoration income and expenses and will have its own tax rate separate from the county’s maintenance and operations tax rate to pay back the funds generated from the sale of the Certificate of Obligation Bonds.”
“Whether or not the county accepts the $6 million grant, the county will still need Certificates of Obligation to finance the separate projects.” Powell added. “The only difference is that we will not restore the entire 100-year-old courthouse.”
The urgent repairs will still have to be made. The voters will decide whether to accept the $6 million restoration grant from the Texas Historical Commission.
For more information, visit co.hall.tx.us/page/hall. courthouse.restoration or contact Powell at 806-259-- 2511.
