The Ellis County Press: What to do with all that red sandstone at the SSC

What to do with all that red sandstone at the SSC
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Editor on 07/03/2008 10:05:00


JOEY DAUBEN
The Ellis County Press
SITE OF THE SUPERCONDUCTING SUPERCOLLIDER - There are vacant buildings, hollow
underground tunnels, a sheriff's office substation and $150,000 worth of red
sandstone rock that former County Judge Al Cornelius ordered.
The cemetery of red rock - purchased through a shell corporation _The Ellis
County Press_ (and only this paper) exposed several years ago - sits idle as
weeds grow, critters chirp and weather takes its toll.
The rock was intended for the county courthouse restoration, according to County
Auditor Mike Navarro.
Some thought it was to accent the now-razed Ellis County Justice Center, a
three-story pink stucco-walled (hence the term "Pink Elephant") government
facility Ellis County taxpayers rejected.
The pink building was constructed using a finance mechanism called a tax
anticipation note, which Cornelius - elected as a Republican but censured by his
own party - helped pass through on a 3-1 commissioners' court vote (Commissioner
Ron Brown, R-Red Oak, was the lone vote against it and still serves on the
court).
Taxpayers are still footing the bill for the project that had to be demolished
because of excessive mold and water damage (this reporter snuck in through an
unlocked door in 2002 to digitally document the inside damages. No Trespassing
signs were posted the next week.)
The county sued the architect, made off with a sizable cash settlement that now
accrues interest in a bank account and is set to start construction on the
justice center's replacement - same location, two bonds to pay off.
Due to a refinancing the county pushed in the early part of this century, Ellis
County's taxpayers won't be stuck holding that big of a bill for vacant land.
The red rock, though, still sits dormant waiting for county officials to auction
it, sell it or utilize it on the new round of county facilities.
Navarro, who has served in the auditor's seat for years, said the rock isn't for
sale, but if it were to be sold to the public, county commissioners could
declare the property abandoned and set it up for auction.