(November 18, 20080--State officials have ordered at least $140,000 in renovations to the members-only lounge in the Texas House.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday the lounge will have antique brass chandeliers above granite countertops, two big screen TVs and a $3,400 icemaker.
Records provided to AP, under freedom of information laws, reveal new details about the lounge renovation, which comes at the same time Gov. Rick Perry has is asking state agencies to "dial back their spending,” and House GOP members, led by Speaker Tom Craddick, are at the Lost Pines Resort and Spa for strategizing with lobbyists paying up to $25,000 each to join in.
House Accountant Steve Adrian said "no particular person" initiated the renovation idea.
Tom "Smitty" Smith with the watchdog group Public Citizen said it's the height of hypocrisy for legislators to be out spending money "feathering their lounge" when everybody else has to cut back.
Adrian this week called the renovation a "joint project" between the House and the Texas State Preservation Board.
House officials have purchased equipment and furnishings, such as dustom wood cabinets with granite countertops and backsplash for$61,200; a Scotsman Touchfree air-cooled flake ice maker for $3,425; Sub-zero freezer drawers for 3,517; Hatco built-in warming drawers for $2,749; two Sharp 42-inch LCD TVs for $2,198, and two under-counter refrigerators for $2,019.
An undated "estimated budget" lists a little over $140,000 in equipment and labor costs so far.
In written responses to inquiries from the AP, Adrian said officials did not foresee going beyond that, unless they need a new couch.
On Oct. 29, Nadine Craddick, the House speaker's wife e-mailed Adrian about the possible purchase of a sofa.
"This is my favorite," she said in the e-mail containing pictures of three Hancock-Moore sofa designs.
Asked if the e-mail prompted any expenditures Adrian said, "Nothing has been purchased yet."
Documents show Mrs. Craddick also gave explicit approval for a new sink and oversaw the selection of the granite used for the countertops.
Under the Texas government code, the State Preservation Board must "approve all changes to the buildings and their grounds."
Preservation Board officials could not immediately answer whether any modifications had been pre-approved by the board, which hasn't met publicly since Feb. 1, 2007.
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