AMWA press release
The rain could not dampen the smiles and enthusiasm of the Athens Municipal Water Authority Board of Directors and the Henderson County Peace Officers Association (HCPOA) President on Wednesday as they ceremoniously broke ground on their new shared headquarters facility.
Authority Board President Mike Peek, Board members Milburn Chaney and Frank Lunceford, were joined by Authority Executive Director Bill Casey and HCPOA President David Faught to mark the occasion.
The 4,000 square-foot, shared-space will stand on the Authority’s property where the HCPOA building stood until earlier this year. The new headquarters facility is estimated to open in November.
The Athens Municipal Water Authority was brought into existence by the Texas State Legislature in 1957, but have never had their own headquarters building to call home. Since the Authority split their operations from the City of Athens in 2014, they have operated out of three temporary spaces, most recently at the Lake Athens Marina and RV Park.
“It will be wonderful to have a permanent location for the Authority, to have all of our files and equipment in one place. Being right on Lake Athens allows us to be closer to our water resource and our Lake service property owners, and also allow us to be close to the future well farm and all of the Authority’s other properties,” said Athens Municipal Water Authority Executive Director Bill Casey.
Casey said, “As the Athens Municipal Water Authority is the steward of the water in Lake Athens and is also the police patrol of Lake Athens, this new building will allow us to have a greater presence on the Lake. The Henderson County Peace Officers Association has leased AMWA property for many, many years. The Authority needed a home and we are thrilled that we could provide a major upgrade to the HCPOA’s home, as well.”
The Authority’s Board of Directors voted at their Aug. 10 meeting, to accept bids for the new headquarters construction. Morrow Construction will begin the dirt work, concrete pad and parking lot soon. Republic Contractors will be finishing out the interior of the building. The Board accepted a bid from Red Dot Buildings, in May, for the steel exterior structure.
Construction is expected to begin in earnest as soon as the weather allows.