From the City of Del Rio
Submitted to the 830 Times
Del Rio, Texas – On February 8, 2023, city staff conducted a site visit to discuss a renovation project to the Paul Poag dressing rooms, leading to the discovery of several life safety hazards within the facility that needed to be addressed immediately. This discovery led city administration and staff to make the needed decision to temporarily close the facility to the public and employees. No admittance will be allowed into the theatre unless authorized in advance.
City staff is working diligently to obtain the necessary contracted and in-house services for these repairs. During this time, the sidewalk near and under the canopy of the theatre will be blocked off from public access and the street area in front of the facility will be barricaded to allow for pedestrian foot traffic beginning today, February 10, 2023.
These safety concerns will be resolved with the following list of work and repairs to be done:
• Fire suppression system inspection and repairs
• Egress lighting on both exterior sides of the building
• Electrical work to correct short circuits, repair and replace exposed wiring and identify open faults
• Inspect and add additional fire extinguishers, as needed
• Repairs and replacement to the fire alarm panel and all necessary audible devices to meet life safety code.
• Re-install outlets throughout the building to meet building code requirements
• Install scaffolding support structure to the canopy
• Remove HVAC and electrical from the canopy
• Paint fire lane to include space for FDC connection per code
“Our Public Works team does an incredible job ensuring that businesses and properties meet all the building codes necessary to make safety our number one priority,” stated City Manager John Sheedy. “When our Chief Building Official visited the Paul Poag Theatre, he had many concerns that had not been addressed in the building in years. We must hold ourselves to the same level of accountability that we require of the public. We regret the inconvenience this will and has brought to the events booked at the theatre during this time, however, these are life safety hazards that we cannot take lightly. In the event that any booked events need to be rescheduled, Civic Facilities staff will be reaching out to and working with each of the bookings to find an alternate solution for their events, as best as possible.”
“With the understanding that the building is one of the oldest and most populated buildings downtown, we have always done our best to identify these issues in hopes to getting them funded,” stated Leno Hernandez, Civic Facilities Manager. “I am excited to get these issues reviewed and resolved with the support of this administration and humbly ask for the support and patience of the public as we resolve these issues.”
The intention of the City is to conduct the repairs as expeditiously as possible and render the building safe for limited use, once the immediate life safety concerns have been addressed. As other repairs are addressed, the Chief Building Official will review for increased use. We thank the community for their patience and understanding during this time. The safety of our visitors and staff is our number one priority and we look forward to presenting a safe and improved Paul Poag Theatre for years to come.
For more information about these facility repairs, please contact the Operations and Compliance Auditors office at 830-255-7599.
