Courthouse brick, stone repairs begin

Work began last week to restore brick and stone elements on the 1890 Donley County Courthouse.

County and state officials have known about spalling sandstone and some facing brick that was pulling away from places on the building for more than 20 years, but funding was only recently made available to deal with the issues.

Judge John Howard said a master mason with Premier Construction is working to anchor the facing brick to the structural brick. In fact, the mason is also anchoring some brick that is not moving to prevent the same damage from happening in the future.

Around the foundation of the building, spalling sandstone will be replaced or patched where possible, Howard said.

The project is costing less than originally anticipated, which will allow the county to do additional restoration work inside the building. The district court room will be acoustically analyzed and treated to made it easier to hear proceedings there, and the jury box will be enlarged. The county also plans to install a sprinkler system for fire prevention and finish out the third story office that was only roughed in back during the 2003 restoration.

Howard said the project is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.

In other county news, the commissioners’ court met Monday, April 13, to discuss several items and voted to improve the courthouse elevator. Howard said the county has been replacing a hydraulic hose about every five years, but commissioners have now agreed to spend a little more money now – about $20,000 – to save money for the long term by upgrading the elevator with a hydraulic pipe lift.