WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2014 VOLUME 104 ISSUE 20
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Commissioners vote to create La Cima Public Improvement District By Alexa Tavarez NEWS REPORTER
JOHN CODY STALSBY STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The team who renovated Old Main received the 2014 Excellence in Construction Award.
Team behind Old Main renovation receives regional construction award By Carlie Porterfield SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
T
he recent renovations completed on Old Main have earned the architect and construction companies responsible a regional award. The South Texas chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. awarded Brown Reynolds Watford Architects and Phoenix 1 Restoration and Construction, both Dallas-area companies, the 2014 Excellence in Construction Award for their work on Old Main. The most important part of Old Main’s restoration was repairing wear and tear on the sides of the building and its signature maroon roof, said Bill Nance, vice president
of Finance and Support Services. “It had been decades since the roof had been repaired, so they put a new roof on it, and then they also did what is called ‘repointing the brick,’” Nance said. “Mortar was deteriorating between the bricks, so they reapplied the mortar to secure the bricks.” They also replaced and painted the wooden sashes around the windows where deteriorated wood was found, Nance said. “It was really just restoring the building envelope exterior, roof and sides to protect the inside of it better,” Nance said. Old Main was the first building built on the Texas State campus. The City of San Marcos donated Chautauqua Hill, the hilltop where
Old Main now sits, to the university after the Texas Legislature authorized the school in 1899. Old Main opened its doors to the first class of Bobcats several years later in 1903, Nance said. The “historicity” of a building like Old Main changes the way people approach the project, said Michael Petty, director of Planning, Design and Construction. “It changes your attitude completely,” Petty said. “You don’t do anything on a whim. You do the proper research, and you bring in the proper people to design it and to do the actual construction.” Keeping Old Main’s appearance
as close to the original design as possible was of high importance to the restoration team, Nance said. “You have to do as much as you can to maintain the same look, feel, even materials, which is hard 110 years later,” Nance said. “We had to match the historical nature of the building.” Staying true to the original was a challenge, Petty said. The team strived to find building materials, from bricks to limestone, similar in color, texture and shape to the original fixtures. “One of the interesting twists of this particular project, we chose a pattern of the shingles that was
See OLD MAIN, Page 2 NEWS BRIEF
NEWS BRIEF
Arrest warrant issued in attempted kidnapping at San Marcos Walmart
—COURTESY OF SMPD
By Nicole Barrios ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR San Marcos police used video evidence to identify the suspect in an attempted abduction of an 11-year-old girl at the San Marcos Walmart. The attempted abduction took place Sept. 7. An arrest warrant for attempted kidnapping has been issued for Tenencio Moraga
III, 31, who also goes by the name of “Dennis,” according to a citywide press release. The father of two young girls, ages 10 and 11, told SMPD that a man approached his 11-year-old daughter around 9 p.m. at the Walmart. The man told the girl he had free toys to give her, and she started to leave the store with him. The 10-year-old followed the man and her sister, and she shouted to her father that they were going to get free toys, according to the release. The father went to inspect the situation, and when the suspect saw the father approaching he left quickly. Moraga has family in San Marcos and Austin but is currently homeless. The suspect has not been seen since Sept. 11 after TV news broadcasts aired images from the security footage. Moraga has been known to regularly visit the Southside Community Center in San Marcos.
Professor to evaluate proposed dam removal By Karen Munoz NEWS REPORTER Thom Hardy, professor and Chief Science Officer of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, discussed his Cape’s Dam river evaluations Tuesday at the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. Hardy’s evaluation will present objective facts about the environmental setting in which Cape’s Dam exists and the environment around it. His evaluation will pay special attention to changes in the river channel and the hydraulic environment. He has conducted multiple evaluations on the river in the past, but none have focused on the effects recreation has on the river. Tubers, kayakers, canoers and people floating the river don’t cause much harm to the river’s inhabitants, he said. People inside the river cause more harm than floaters do. The fountain darter and Texas Wild Rice are endangered species that will be impacted by the proposed removal of Cape’s dam, Hardy said. San Marcos is a signatory of the Edwards Aquifer Authority’s Habitat Conservation Plan. Because the city is a signatory, it is legally responsible for its actions including
the incidentals. “The HCP has identified specific biological targets for Texas Wild Rice and Fountain Darters both above and below Cape’s Dam,” Hardy said. The city has a legal obligation to make sure these species are not harmed if the dam is removed. Hardy’s evaluations will try to find the best way to deal with the dam without harming the species. Some in attendance at the meeting voiced their concern about a rise in recreation around Cape’s Dam if the dam is removed. Hardy said excessive recreation can be countered by taping off areas of the river which has been proven to work in areas of Sewell Park. Hardy answered questions about what Fountain Darters and Wild Rice need to thrive in the area and said that his evaluations will further the public’s knowledge on what to do about the situation. The Parks Board will present Hardy’s data to the public, who will use his data to determine what to do and will then present their decision to city council. Due to the extensiveness of the research Hardy has to conduct as part of this evaluation, his evaluation is predicted to be complete in December.
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The Hays County Commissioners Court discussed and voted Tuesday in favor of the creation of the La Cima Public Improvement District (PID). The commissioners court accepted full discretion in issuing debt to owners of property within the jurisdiction. On the road to city approval, the La Cima project faced opposition because many feared the burden of debt from the development would fall to taxpayers. However, some present on Tuesday expressed confidence that this solution was the best for the project. “As a citizen who has invested all my chips into the City of San Marcos table, this is an incredibly important project for our community,” said Peter Rose, a San Marcos resident. “It will bring better jobs, better housing and it will support our school system. It’s a number of things that has passed San Marcos by in past years.” Rose said he could move forward with comfort and confidence knowing the commissioners held full discretion on the issuance of debt to developers owning property within La Cima PID. General Counsel Mark Kennedy further assured residents debt would fall to the responsibility of developers and owners in the jurisdiction. “When debt is issued, that debt is paid for through way of assessments against the owner or owners of property in that area,” Kennedy said. “It isn’t a debt that would be paid for by the county through taxes.” However, the bill from the La Cima development is calculated by evaluating the county and the city’s overlapping debt, Kennedy said. “There’s also a legislative ceiling of one-third of the appraised value that is an important check on the (debt issuances),” said Commissioner Will Conley, Precinct 3. “If the developers don’t (abide), we have absorption rates that are consistent with the market and values in vertical structure.” The total indebtedness of the La Cima development is approximated to be $80 million, Kennedy said. An independent appraisal of the land for the project is the next step and is anticipated to be done in next 30 to 45 days. The appraised value can be a tremendous asset for the county, Conley said. “I think it’s important that every court looks at every circumstance in an individual basis with the county benefit in mind,” Cobb said. While language in the resolution under the section “Nature and Improvements” mentions unds can be used for swimming pools, playgrounds and athletic fields, extensive conversations with developers have determined those features are not on the table, Kennedy said. Later improvements made to the PID must serve a county public purpose. “For those who say they do want growth but want the developer to pay for the infrastructure, this is the perfect solution for that,” Cobb said. “It’s a solution
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