If anyone has been driving by the auditorium’s parking lot of the Jackson County Extension Services Building, it’s easy to see something is going on inside. The inside of the building is getting a glow up, with El Campo’s BLS Construction as the main contractor, and Oak and Clay’s Rachel Watkins as a subcontractor, and who helped create the design concept, Jackson County Judge Jill Sklar said.
Sklar said the discussion has been ongoing for a couple of years, but the court made a decision to move forward with the building recently. It will be broken down into three phases.
“This first phase consists of replacing the ceiling at the entrance to the front of the building, a refresh on the auditorium, the bathrooms, and the caterers’ kitchen next to the auditorium, and replacing floors, cabinets, counters, and appliances in the 4-H kitchen next to the extension office,” she said.
The caterers’ kitchen’s stove will be removed and replaced with a commercial warmer, plus a commercial refrigerator and chest freezer to better accommodate those who are feeding large crowds.
Phase one will be expected to be finished by May 28, and phase two will be renovating all the other bathrooms throughout the building. Phase three will be replacing the floors in the halls and painting the halls.
Sklar went on to say it’s been over 25 years since major work was done, and the commissioners’ court acknowledged that it’s a much-needed venue and wanted to present a location the community would be proud of. In addition, the 4-H food and nutrition program has grown over the last few years, and they wanted to make the 4-H kitchen a workable space for the kids to learn and continue to grow.
Sklar also said the court doesn’t anticipate any adjustments to the prices of rent for the auditorium, because they just reviewed their policy and rental contract last fall.
“We mainly addressed an increase in the deposit in order to recoup unnecessary expenses the court was incurring when renters were damaging the facility or not leaving it clean as required by the contract,” she said.
It is the hope of the commissioners’ court that the phases will be finished by the end of summer.
