It has been six months since Tropical Storm Harvey hit the county. Many citizens are still getting their residences and businesses repaired or even rebuilt. Orange County government facilities are in the same condition.
Fortunately, the county had insurance on its properties through the Texas Association of Counties (TAC). Kurt Guidry the Maintenance Director for the county said there are 15 buildings his department is overseeing the work to restore to their pre-Harvey status using insurance to pay for repairs.
The Orange County Courthouse building has about 20 percent of the work complete costing $19,399. The District Clerk’s office is 50 percent complete at a cost of $7300. Repairs to the County Clerk’s office are also about 50 percent complete at the same price as the District Clerk’s office. Repairs to the District Attorney’s office are completed costing $46,110. The Raymond Gould Community Center in Vidor is 50 percent complete at $59,816. Several other county facilities are to be addressed further with repairs.
To date the county has spent $139,925 in insurance funds on repairs and construction. Guidry indicated the county still has over $826,000 of insurance money to use for future repairs. “Those numbers are not etched in stone because some of the buildings that we’re working on will be negotiated with TAC to try to get more funding for repairs,” Guidry added.
Several facilities like the Claiborne West Park have had work done by Guidry’s department, but were not necessarily covered by insurance. The roofs of the pavilions are covered by insurance and will be repaired.
Work on the Sheriff’s Office building will be covered by insurance and is still being negotiated with the contractor Spawglass. The exterior north wall of the building especially needs repairs. Water from the flooding entered the building through the cinder block wall on the north side. The interior wall had mold several feet high when the deputies returned to the building days after the storm.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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