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Reeves County groundwater board weighs downtown Pecos building purchase; no vote taken
Summary
District staff presented inspections and repair estimates for a 5,654-square-foot downtown Pecos building; directors debated roof, sewer and code issues and compared repair-plus-purchase costs to new construction but took no action.
The Reeves County Groundwater Conservation District discussed but did not approve the purchase of a downtown Pecos building at its Nov. 20 meeting after staff presented inspection findings and cost estimates.
General Manager Greg told directors the district had entered an earnest-money contract after inspecting the building but the seller requested a new “clean” contract because of delays related to the seller’s representative’s surgery. Greg summarized inspections completed to date—roofing, HVAC, sewer scope and general building inspection—and noted the property is being sold "as is." Roofing bids ranged from $88,000 to $125,000, HVAC repairs were estimated at about $28,000, and an assessor (C.J. Zuniga) estimated roughly $291,500 in repairs overall. Greg calculated total investment after purchase and repairs at about $897,000 (approximately $158 per square foot), compared with local new-construction estimates of $250 per square foot or higher.
Directors raised multiple points: Director Ginny Barmore highlighted cast-iron sewer deterioration and said crumbling cast iron necessitates replacement; Director Nancy Martinez emphasized the roof and prior poor roofing work that would require correction; Director Cecil Lee advised against a metal roof and said plumbing repairs appeared feasible; Director David Dominguez characterized the structure as having "good bones" and a favorable location, noting most problems appeared cosmetic aside from the roof. Director Luke Brown asked about city-code compliance; Attorney Emily Rogers advised that the district must follow the same city permitting requirements as any other property owner and that state competitive-bidding rules would govern repair contracting.
Greg said the current contract would expire next week and that signing a new contract would extend escrow by 30 days to allow more due diligence. The board did not take action on the purchase and discussed pursuing formal competitive bids and further code-specific evaluation if it decides to proceed at a future meeting.
The board requested additional information and left the matter for future consideration.
