"We’ve had major cracks in the jail because of its unsound foundation, and have been contracting with Sparks Engineering Inc. through the Texas Historical Society to do the structural analysis of the building and to make recommendations for the repairs needed to fix the problem,” Dalrymple said. "We found that we need to install piers in the foundation to stabilize the structure.”
Former FLRTJ President Sheri Zoch explained that since Preservation Texas has named the Red Top Jail one of seven of Texas’ Most Endangered Places; and since the THC has recognized it as an important national and state historical treasure, this has qualified the FLRTJ to obtain grants to help fund the addition of the necessary piers.
"When the hard freeze happened last year, the central core of the jail sunk one inch. Then, two weeks ago Sparks Engineering came and looked at the jail again and recommended that we suspend all tours,” Zoch said.
Dalrymple added, "Not that we think the building is about to fall down, but from a safety standpoint we just don’t want to take any chances. We want to be on the safe side until we can get the piers installed.”
According to Zoch, Sparks Engineering has estimated that it will cost some $90,000 to install the 32 piers needed.
"The Texas Historical Commission (THC) said this project was an emergency situation, and that it really needs to be funded, but they didn’t have the funds, so they even took money out of their principle to help us,” she said, adding that the Dallas-based Summerlee Foundation last week awarded the FLRTJ $10,000.
"We’re doing all this in phases,” Zoch said. "An architectural master plan has outlined nine different phases needed to complete the whole restoration. The stabilization of the roof last year was Phase Three, and Phase Four will be the stabilizing of the foundation through the addition of the piers. After that, there’ll be other stuff that needs to be done internally in all the rooms.
"I’m going to ask the Texas Historical Foundation and the LCRA once again to give us more money to get these piers installed. So far we haven’t installed any, but have raised about $55,000 of the $90,000 required, which means we need $35,000 more.”
The City of Llano is seeking alternative design options to repair and stabilize the historic Red Top Jail .
In November the Llano city council rejected a bid of $394,000 from Sparks Engineering of Round Rock to repair the jail’s foundation. The Texas Historic Commission recently informed the city that it would commit $25,000 for jail repairs. The decision to reject the bids was due primarily to the cost of the project and the available funds of the city, according to City Manager Finley deGraffenried.
deGraffenried presented a letter to general contractors who may have some interest in the restoration of the jail. The letter requests that the contractors offer additional design options including a phased approach to the installation of piers as currently designed.
He said a freeze last February caused the central core of the jail to sink an inch. Had the top of the jail not been stabilized when the roof was repaired in 2009, the building could have crumbled, Dalrymple said.
