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By Anton Riecher
A proposed cafeteria and gymnasium space for the elementary school has fallen victim to the cost cutting axe as the Devine school board struggle to keep district wide renovations within the voter approved $11.255 million price tag.
On a motion by trustee Carl Brown, seconded by Chris Davis, the board voted unanimously to approve the schematic plans for the project as presented with the combination cafeteria/gymnasium space eliminated.
“With regret,” said board president Nancy Pepper.
Originally, the district sought $32 million in a bond issue for the district improvements, district superintendent Todd Grandjean explained. When that proposed bond issue was rejected by voters, the board was faced with reevaluating the district’s needs, reducing the proposed renovations and improvements to a $11.255 million bond package that won voter approval.

Unfortunately, when the list of safety and security requirements salvaged from the $32 million bond project was submitted to the contractors the eventual cost was $5 million more than the reduced bond package would cover, he said.
“So we have to figure out what do we have to take away from our wish list to be able to get into the price tag that we’re able to afford,” Grandjean said.
The obvious choice for the cut was the $3.8 million cafeteria/gymnasium space, he said. Also on the chopping block were renovations on the upper floors of the high school building.
Losing the cafeteria/gymnasium means major changes to affecting safety and security at the elementary, Grandjean said. Plans call for moving the current administration building to the opposite side of the campus leaving a gap between the first grade wing and the Kinder wing.
“Now we have to figure out how to connect the Kinder wing to that section that’s the main hall,” Grandjean said.
Losing the gymnasium/cafeteria may be reconsidered in November once the new schematic designs are completed and costs reevaluated.
In other security matters discussed at the Monday night board meeting, Grandjean reported that in addition to state required intruder detection audits the Texas Education Agency will also conduct district vulnerability assessments.
“This is when TEA will come to our campus for approximately three to four days and go top to bottom over every single piece of the safety plan,” he said.
The assessment includes adjustments and recommendations to eliminate any deficiencies found in the plan.
Also under the heading of security, Grandjean reported on the completion of eight-foot-high fencing at the elementary and intermediate campuses. That fencing includes one-inch thick fabric covering effectively making the fence “unscaleable,” he said.
Grandjean announced that the district had been awarded $150,000 under the TEA’s Safety and Facilities Enhancement (SAFE) Cycle 2 program, intended to help schools that have already met required safety standards met other statutory school safety requirements and allowable expenses.
The district was previously awarded $1.1 million under the first cycle of the SAFE program. Grandjean said he had hoped the district would match that amount under second cycle funding.
“We didn’t quite get there but this will still be valuable funds that we can use and not have to take money out of our operating budget,” he said.

By Anton Riecher
Action to consider re-negotiation of the contract governing management of the Devine golf course was approved by a 4-1 vote of the Devine City Council at its July 16 regular session.
Urging the re-negotiation, Mayor Butch Cook said that under the current management of the Devine Golf Group (DGG) the course had reached a positive turning point with the recent completion of improvements to the golf course clubhouse, including a new air conditioning system.
“This golf course is a viable operation, especially now that the clubhouse has been completed,” Cook said.
The motion in favor of considering re-negotiation was made by District 3 council member Jeff Miller and seconded by District 2 council member Michael Hernandez. District 5 council member Debbie Randall was alone in opposing the measure.
DGG Rep Ron Richards questioned why their own District 5 representative doesn’t support them. Randall noted that she does at times.
No preliminary figures on the new contract were introduced during the meeting.

“My intent this evening is not for us to sit here and talk about the numbers, going back and forth,” Cook said. “I just want a consensus of the council if we want to proceed in this direction, to sit down and talk about negotiations.”
Cook said he did not believe the existing contract was good for either the city nor DGG. It covers a 10-year period with an additional 10-year option. In addition to an annual lease payment of $1 a year, the DGG pays the city $1 per paid green fee and $2 per membership every quarter. After five years the DGG payment per paid member increases to $5 each quarter.
“In my mind it should be a short contract that we can negotiate at the end of each term,” Cook said.
In the two years since DGG took over management of the course the city has not paid DGG a dime directly, compared to the previous management contract that cost the city $32,500 a month, he said.
The golf course itself is the property of the city and its maintenance remains the city responsibility, Cook said.
“I’ve said it for a year now since I was elected,” he said. “That property is the property of the City of Devine. It is our job to maintain that infrastructure.”
DGG “inherited some things that were really in bad shape,” Cook said.
“They’ve already paid $17,000 for their half of the wells and pumps which is in the current contract,” he said. “They have gone by the contract explicitly and followed everything in it.”
Cook said he did not want the golf course project to fail for lack of capital expenditure.
“We want these guys to succeed,” he said. “They all have local ties. They’re vested in the golf course. They care about it deeply.”
The council approved payment of more than $5,500 in invoices submitted by DGG to reimburse them for electrical work and other repairs involving water pumps. However, the council rejected two invoices totaling more than $700 in plumbing and another $465 related to fire inspection, citing contract language making DGG responsible for payment.
Council voted to table one of two executive sessions scheduled after it was determined that the items to get discussed – requests for quotes for technology services and city engineer, city attorney and city auditor services – could only be legally discussed in open session.
The items were listed on the agenda under the heading of personnel.
No action was taken after an executive session held to discuss litigation with City Attorney Thomas Cate.
The council voted 3-2 against a request from the Devine Housing Authority asking the city to waive this year’s $4,000 check as payment in lieu of property taxes. Mayor Cook explained that the authority cited the expense of recent improvements to local federal housing.
District 1 council member Ray Gonzales, District 2 council member Michael Hernandez and District 3 council member Jeff Miller voted against granting the waiver.
In another vote against the council majority, council woman Randall voted against an amendment to the airport mowing contract issued to contractor Joe Munoz. Mayor Cook explained that the new contract will be paid monthly as is standard with most service contracts.
Prior to Cook taking charge, the whole contract had been paid up front. Last May since the city was already a month into the contract he agreed to half up front. He was told the mowing contract was ‘usually’ paid in advance to cover the cost of equipment and supplies, he said. “We are not doing ‘business as usual’, we are doing it the right way now. Monthly like the contract says” Cook stated.
In response to a quarterly investment report, council members expressed concern over the low rate of return on more than $2 million in funds waiting to be used in the construction of the city’s new ground storage tank.