The Herald-Zeitung

Comal County Commissioners officially asked the governor’s office Thursday to give the county an extra year to finish construction on a dam on the Dry Comal Creek.

The dam, which will be located just west of Krueger Canyon Road and north of Farm-to-Market 482, was scheduled to be finished by February 2010.

County Commissioners formally asked the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management to extend that date for an extra year after some construction delays.

County Judge Danny Scheel said Tuesday construction crews found unstable, “rotten gravel” at the construction site. The dam must be built on solid rock. Now crews need more time to pour a foundation underneath the dam.

The county had to seek permission from the governor’s office for more time because the majority of the $7 million project is paid for through grants with deadlines.

Although the request was for a year, Scheel said the delay would likely mean an additional three months before the dam is complete.

Also on Thursday, commissioners accepted almost $300,000 in grant funding through the Texas Division of Emergency Management. The bulk of the money will go toward buying emergency generators to power the jail and other facilities, according to Emergency Management Coordinator Carol Edgett.