By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
City council members got an update on the Paul Poag Theater rehabilitation project during their most recent meeting.
Council members and city staff discussed the details during their Nov. 19 meeting, in a presentation on the Paul Poag rehabilitation project, which included the contract with Able City LLC, an architectural firm hired to conduct reports and surveys on the structure and condition of the historic downtown theater.
The presentation was brought to the council by three city staff members, with Scot Carcasi, the city’s operations and compliance manager, starting the presentation. Carcasi began by talking about all the site observations completed by Able City during October and November.
“They have completed their site observations, including the architectural work, working with the historical consultant, the mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, plumbing engineer, structural engineer . . . They are currently working on a framework for the report, including the history of the theater, an exterior and interior building assessment and a review of fire-and-life-safety elements and barrier-free accessibility of both front and back of the house,” Carcasi told the council.
Luis Menchaca, the city’s purchasing agent, talked about the collaborations between Del Rio city staff and Able City teams during early November.
“(City staff and Able City) have been reviewing the existing building plans and finalizing the survey that will be submitted to the community. After further review, they requested the city to provide a better direction to Able City from administration,” Menchaca said.
“The first option was to complete the historical renovations necessary on the interior to bring the building up to code and reopen the theater for use, which will be the fastest way possible.
Option two, while the facility is operating, would be to complete the historic exterior renovations. We would also incorporate renovations to the back-of-house areas to add modern amenities. And option three would be to look at creating a multiple-purpose center by acquiring adjacent properties to include other amenities such as an elevator and additional restrooms,” Menchaca added.
Menchaca finished his part of the presentation saying city staff recommended option two, adding it would be the “quickest fix, but still keeping the historic sense (of the building) in mind.”
Assistant City Finance Director Roxy Soto spoke about a phase in the project involving community engagement.
“Able City will work with the city of Del Rio and key community leaders by organizing and scheduling stakeholder and public engagement meetings, including a partnering workshop with local performing arts groups. We have planned three meetings with city arts and culture groups and other stakeholder groups, one community survey, and they will have a deliverable, which is a community input and concerns memorandum,” Soto said.
“Another component (Able City) will be providing is the programming confirmation workshop.
Able City will conduct a one two-hour workshop with stakeholders and staff in order to confirm the theater program. The recommendation from staff is that we have a diverse stakeholder committee to spread the word and bring the community together to participate in the community survey,” Soto added.
Soto recommended the council to appoint a council member as an ex-officio to the stakeholder committee.
Mayor Al Arreola made the motion to appoint Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez as a member of the stakeholder committee for the Paul Poag, and Councilman Jesus Lopez Jr. gave the second.
Arreola asked the council members if they had any more questions, and Councilman J.P. Sanchez spoke about his concerns.
“I want to make sure everybody is aware of a budget. Everyone is going to be saying their wants and wishes, and those wants and wishes start costing money. We need to create a budget that is feasible for this to happen, and we want it to happen, but we have to be reasonable about it also,” Sanchez said.
City Manager Shawna Burkhart said the city has set aside $3 million, and she said they will reduce the dollar amount based on the estimate which will be requested by Able City for the theater’s construction phase.
“The reason we didn’t go with the high end is because it would require us to purchase another building, and there are no funds for that,” Burkhart said.
Sanchez responded by saying he does not want the Paul Poag Theater rehabilitation project to drag on, and he wants the city to stay on a budget.
Gutierrez asked if the city has applied for grants from the Texas Historical Commission, or if the city can use hotel occupancy tax (HOT) funds towards the theater project. Menchaca answered Gutierrez’s question by saying applying for grants would take more time and cost more money.
He said the option is available, but added that the city would currently not meet the requirements.
Arreola agreed with Sanchez by saying the city needs to stay within the budget in order to complete the project.
Before moving to the next item on the agenda, Arreola and Sanchez thanked Carcasi, Menchaca and Soto for presenting the updates on the project to the council.
