Bastrop, Tx–After a sometimes tedious special meeting which lasted almost four hours Monday evening, a divided Bastrop City Council endorsed the principal terms of a lease proposal which could turn the present city hall into a museum and visitor center on Main Street within five years.
Later this year the council expects to begin construction of a new city hall in the 1300 block of Chestnut Street.
The Bastrop County Historical Society hopes to lease the present city hall at nominal cost for up to 40 years and convert it into a history center and downtown visitor attraction. If the society can raise some $250,000 for renovation costs, the council agreed to contribute at least $500,000 from hotel room rental taxes to the project, as well as pay utility and some building maintenance and insurance expenses.
The final vote for the plan carried by a 3-2 majority with Council Members Julie Hart and Dock Jackson in the minority. Council Members Terry Sanders, Willie DeLaRosa and Joe Beal supported the proposition.
Hart said she liked the idea for a downtown museum and visitor center, but the proposal “asks too much from the city” in financial support.
Sanders said the project, as proposed, will help maintain the value of the city’s historic business district and overall “won’t cost the taxpayers (anything).”
The council debate on lease terms was preceded by an hour-long public comment period during which speakers were about evenly divided between backers and opponents of the proposal. At the end of the night some council members worried about the possible effect of ongoing community divisions over the issue.
“It’s been a difficult process,” said Jackson. “I’m saddened (by the remaining divisions).”
“If the conduct of these negotiations has caused division (in the community), I’m truly sorry,” said Mayor Terry Orr. “But it’s been an open discussion, and I hope we’ve had due process.”
Beal addressed the same issue, even as he pressed for a final decision Monday. “Open discussion is healthy,” he said.