By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
City council members on Tuesday took the next step toward rehabilitating a historic
theater in downtown Del Rio.
The council voted unanimously to approve a resolution authorizing City Manager
Shawna Burkhart to advertise a request for bids for Phase III of the Paul Poag Theatre
Rehabilitation Project. The council approved the resolution after hearing an update on
Phase II of the project from representatives of Able City, the company the city hired to
design the renovation work.
City Purchasing Agent Luis Menchaca introduced Able City’s Ricardo Solis and Victor
Montes.
Before turning the mic over to Solis and Montes, Menchaca gave council members a
brief history of the project, noting Phase I was approved in July 2024, and Phase II was
approved in July 2025.
“I do want to commend council and past councils for keeping this project alive. It is a
very important part of Del Rio, and working here for the past five years, seeing you guys
take care of the gems we have here in Del Rio; for example, Plaza Brown, and now, the
Paul Poag Theatre, it really makes me love my job,” Menchaca told the council.
Solis, Able City partner, began the presentation, saying it would include the scope of
work and the site improvements, both inside and outside the theater, as well as review the
next steps in the project.
Solis then turned the presentation over to Montes, the project manager for the theater
rehabilitation work.
Montes told the council, “The gist of the project is we’re trying to get the building up to
code, trying to meet accessibility (requirements), trying to get your electrical and HVAC
functioning, and while doing that, we’re trying to make some adjustments here and there
that make the services and the utilization of the building a bit more efficient.”
Montes said ramps and pavers would be introduced at the front of the building.
“Part of the renovation is we’re trying to get the entrance to the building leveled. Right
now, there’s a steep ramp as soon as you enter the building, so that causes some concern
for ADA, so what we’re doing is, adding ramps from the sides on the sidewalk, getting
up to level with the lobby, making easy access to the inside,” he said.
“When we did that, however, it caused a bit of a height change in the curb, so we’re
introducing some guardrails in front. . . whenever you’re coming out of the theater, it’s
going to stop you from going into the street,” Montes added.
Other improvements will include an ADA-accessible ramp with handrails at the rear of
the theater building so anyone with a wheelchair will be able to enter and exit the facility
there as well.
New concrete pads will be installed for the new HVAC units and for accessible parking,
he said.
“One of the key items that we’re excited about is we’re restoring the marquee that used to
be there. We found out the metal panels are available, and we’re installing a new
marquee so it can go hand-in-hand with the metal panels, but the idea is to bring back the
old marquee,” Montes said.
Montes said designers focused on ADA-accessibility throughout the building.
“We wanted to make sure the building is usable by all, and so some of the adjustments
we are making on the inside, we are leveling that ramp in the front, and we’re adjusting
the two ramps that get you to the front of the house in the seating area. Right now, they’re
really steep and don’t meet code, so we’re trying to make those adjustments so people
can come in easily,” Montes said.
Several areas throughout the theater floor will be designed for ADA-accessible seating.
“The biggest change that we’re adding to this building is a lift. We are adding a lift to the
side of the stage, trying to keep it a bit hidden so it doesn’t interfere with events going
on,” he said.
Montes said the dressing rooms behind the stage will be extensively renovated as well.
Two large dressing rooms, one for men and one for women, will include showers,
restrooms and dressing room areas for actors or others using the theater. The restrooms
and the showers will be ADA-accessible.
New lighting and counters will be installed in the dressing rooms, and both areas will
have heating and air conditioning, Montes said.
Solis finished the presentation, noting Able City met with city staff to review the designs.
“We are at a point now where we are ready to go out for bids. We are planning on
submitting the 100 percent set on Friday. . . and get that permitting started, and at this
point we’re wanting to go on to the next step, to go out for bids, and we’re hoping
somewhere in that six-month timeframe to get this work done,” Solis said.
He said he believed “a good target” for completion of the work is May 2026.
“We’re really, really excited about this project, and we’re really, really happy we’re at
this phase, and we’re here to answer any questions you guys may have,” Solis said.
Mayor Al Arreola said he only had one question.
“Is the A/C (air conditioning) good there, or are we replacing the air conditioning units?”
Arreola asked.
“So, the existing units, what we found through our studies, are really old. They’re still
functioning, but right now we’re proposing to replace the air conditioning units so that
they’re brand-new, and that’ll give you longevity for the next 20 or 30 years,” Solis
replied.
Arreola asked if replacing the air conditioning units is in the rehabilitation budget, and
Solis said it is.
“I say move forward, let’s do this,” Arreola commented.
Councilman Jesus Lopez Jr. asked if there were showers in the dressing rooms before.
Solis said there were showers, but they were not ADA-compliant.
Later in the meeting, council members considered the resolution to authorize the city
manager to advertise for bids for the project.
Mayor Pro-tem Jim DeReus made the motion to approve the resolution, with Lopez
giving the second.
During discussion, Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez asked about a note in the supporting
documentation for the resolution that read staff would need a budget transfer “to cover
the cost.”
“Is that going to be only for the advertisements and notice?” Gutierrez asked.
Menchaca replied the budget transfer would only pertain to the actual advertisements.
“We’re in the first month of the new fiscal year, and we already don’t have a budget for
your advertising and notices?” Gutierrez asked.
“Right now, purchasing doesn’t have the budget for advertising,” Menchaca replied,
adding he would look at the Paul Poag budget to see if the cost could be funded from it or
possibly from the public works department.
Lopez asked if Menchaca or Able City already had a particular contractor “ready to go”
for the project.
“Yes, there’s a couple of historical restorations that we’ve done in the past that we’ve
worked with some contractors on, one in particular out of San Antonio, but we will reach
out to the local contractors that we worked with at the historical depot also. We want to
get as many bids as we can,” Solis replied.
Lopez asked how long the process would take, and Menchaca replied “for a project of
this size,” the bidding process usually lasts four weeks.
“Based on the holidays, I’m estimating we’ll probably be posting before the end of
October, and then we would be opening (bids) either right before Thanksgiving or right
after. . . Then if everything goes good, we’ll be awarding in December or early January,”
Menchaca said.
The council then voted unanimously to approve the resolution.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
