Dublin City Council discussed renovations at the historic train depot and construction of a new EMS building during a busy regular meeting Monday night.
In regards to the depot, the council voted to move forward with establishing council and citizen’s committees (with assistance from the Historical Society) to assist with the renovations.
This suggestion was made by Dublin EDC Executive Director Brad Stanford who had recently discussed the project with Cloy Richards of GrantWorks, who is also a retired city manager and volunteer for a railroad association and has pledged to assist.
Mayor David Leatherwood reported he knew of several interested parties, and they would be contacted about joining the citizens’ committee.
Stanford also introduced Bob and Nikki Rafferty of Smithville, who delivered a presentation on potentially turning the depot into an Irish Pub in the ‘mediumprice’ range and serving traditional Irish fare as sitdown or carry so people can eat and shop in the downtown area.
The couple said, if allowed to use the building, they would approach the project with respect for local families and history and promote Irish heritage as well as the history of the town and the railroad.
Bob, an experienced architect, had plans for some mild changes he presented but said they wouldn’t disrupt or drastically alter the building with respect to its history. He also said that he’d be willing to offer assistance in the renovations.
Nikki said the desire to open the business in the location stems from their Irish heritage and from a respect to her great-grandfather, who worked on the railroads.
The council was also presented with plans for a 5300-5700 square foot Dublin EMS building from Grossman Designs, a design build firm from Mansfield. EMS Director John Tadlock presented pricing plans based on different down-payments taken from grant money received from the city through an ARPA grant. He admitted the prices were high, noting how construction materials have risen in the last year.
Council member Sammy Moore asked if the city was hurting itself using a design build firm versus going out for bids. Tadlock and City Manager Bobby Mendez reported they had visited facilities in nearby towns that were constructed through firms that won bids and had no experience in creating facilities for first responders. They reported that the agencies were finding several issues with their buildings now.
Council Member Lynn Tidwell asked about the possibility of a budget workshop to discuss the costs and features of the building. He also noted that a public discussion was previously mentioned about the utilization of the city’s ARPA funds. Tadlock said he was agreeable to the workshop and said he would like to take the council through the current EMS facilities to show how much they are in need of a replacement.
The council also approved closing the 100 block of Elm and Grafton on March 12 for the upcoming Tex-Irish events for the St. Patrick’s Day festival. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Amy McDonald reported this year’s event will be a nod to Dublin, Texas and traditional Irish heritage with fun spins on Highland games, live music and stew and pie cooking contests as well as a lot more.
The council also approved requests from Keegan McInroe to hold two events at 502 W. Clinton: a pumpkin patch event from Oct.1 to Oct. 31 and an evening Christmas event from Dec. 12 to Dec. 23.
The council also voted to approve the sales of multiple easements/unimproved alleyways on the recommendation of Bobby Mendez. Mendez said the sales of these wouldn’t yield much but that the costs are to go towards road repairs in the city. Mendez said a new account would probably need to get created to make sure the funds are allocated properly. The sales approved were made at the request of property owners at 310 Vine, 350 N. Park, 413 Gracie, 340 N. Park and 715 E. Blackjack.
The council also approved the order of elections and contract with Erath County for the May elections for Dublin Mayor and Council members Place 2 and Place 4.
Dublin Police Chief Cameron Ray also requested support to seek a $58,000 MDT Project grant that will cover the majority of the $60,000 needed to replace the department’s computers and printers in the vehicles. He also addressed $14,474 received from major pharmaceutical companies as part of a national $26 billion opioid settlement. The council agreed to both items with Ray saying the settlement money will likely go to replace the department’s aging tasers.
The council also approved the annual racial profiling report, which showed no issues and maintaining the current curfew ordinance (for juveniles 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday).