CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Precinct 1 Commissioner Robert Hernandez believes Republicans are trying to derail his $9 million project to renovate and upgrade the Hilltop Community Center in Annaville.
”If I can be truthful it is political season you know,” Hernandez said.
Originally the building was a tuberculosis clinic when it opened back in 1952. The project is set to start this spring, but now, there are calls to change the plans.
One of the leaders of that effort is Mike Pusley who is running against Hernandez in the November elections.
”It’s very inefficient for what we’re trying to use it for and I think we’d be better off looking at tearing that facility down and building even if it’s smaller you’re probably going to get more functional use out of it,” Pusley said.
3NEWS took a tour of the facility and it seems to still be a very solid structure. That's part of the reason the Hernandez wants to save it from being demolished, the building looks remarkably well for being built in 1952.
"You’ve had two former commissioners sitting in this office who never did anything for Hilltop, okay," Hernandez said. "I used to work at Hilltop. I was a maintenance man there.”
Former commissioner Carolyn Vaughn is also calling for the structure to be demolished. The Republican had the Pct. 1 job before Hernandez and Pusley. She showed up to the commissioners court meeting Wednesday to give her thoughts on the project.
”We don’t need to renovate that building; just like any company when you have an asset that’s dying it’s gone you don’t keep pouring money into it,” Vaughn said.
3NEWS asked Mike Pusley why he’d never renovated or demolished and rebuilt Hilltop in his decade as commissioner here. He said regular maintenance always was performed on the building, but that the money for large-scale projects wasn't available then the way it is now.
”We didn’t have $9 million," he said. "That money came from the ARPA grants that the county was given and each commissioner is doing different projects, but we didn’t have $9 million.”
Pusley and other opponents want to see the community involved in the process of what should happen with the project which is only a question of renovating versus a demolition and rebuild job.
Commissioner's court is supposed to take the issue up again later in the month.