$2.6 million earmarked for RSH with Prop. 4 approval
$1 billion bond package will fund 11 agencies
BY TERRIE GONZALEZ

During the General Election Nov. 6, voters will have the opportunity to cast a ballot for or against Proposition 4, a $1 billion bond package which will repair and maintain aging facilities at 11 state agencies. Passage of the bill will have trickle-down effect in Cherokee County by allocating funds for Rusk State Hospital (RSH) and Caddoan Mounds State Park near Alto. Advocates in support of Prop. say that Texans should pay now to maintain and repair aging facilities. Delaying these repairs will cost more in the future, they predict.

Detractors of Prop. 4 suggest that a significant portion of the money, estimated at $300 million, has not yet been allocated to specific procjets. This gives the legislature and state agencies too much discretion in deciding how to spend those funds. In Cherokee County, the largest beneficiary is RSH, which will receive more than $2.6 million to repair and replace roofs and infrastructure at the hospital.

Some of the capital improvements include:

• $778,000, roof repair and replacement

• $177,000, interior flooring and renovation to the medical building

• $450,000, electrical renovation

• $150,000, emergency generator, Geriatric Unit

These funds are in addition to almost $6.5 million that has been spent in fiscal year 2006-07.

"Our agency began an aggressive project of roof repair and replacement about five years ago, and since that time, approximately $2.1 million has been spent on roofing," said Kevin Gentry, director of plant operations at RSH. "In the almost 23 years that I have been here, the roofs are in the best condition I have seen."

Other capital improvements since 2004 include a new fire alarm system featuring a state-of-the-art addressable system with fire protection sprinklers in two patient buildings.

"Five of our eight primary patient use buildings are now equipped with Approved Automatic Sprinkler Systems throughout."

The hospital is currently upgrading equipment like water heaters and installing computer-based energy management systems to control A/C and heating in all buildings.

State Rep. Chuck Hopson (D-Jacksonville) said he took advantage of the opportunity to vote early last week and cast a ballot in support of Prop. 4.

"A lot of things got thrown in together (in that proposition)," he said, referring to HR 36, which outlined the components of Prop. 4. Eleven different state agencies will receive a portion of the bond project, from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept. to the Texas Youth Commission and Department of State Health Services.

Lewie Byers, president of Texas National Bank of Rusk and Rusk Economic Development Board member, feels that Proposition 4 is not an issue that voters should have to vote for.

"If the departments named in the proposition need the money, the legislature should have the will to pass a bill to fund these expenditures," said Mr. Byers.

Since interest on the bonds will have to be paid, the cost of paying for those items will cost more than paying for the improvements from the state's cash reserves. More than $8 billion dollars went unspent from the treasury at the end of the legislative session this year. Near Alto at Caddoan Mounds State Historic Site, money from Prop. 4 would be used to replace fences, renovate buildings, replace the primary electrical distribution system and replace the emergency generator for client residences on the property.

On or about Jan. 1, 2008, Caddoan Mounds will be transferred from TPWD to the Texas Historical Commission. For more information on Prop. 4, go to www.proposition4. org.