The debate about whether a historical building in Fulshear will be restored or recreated continues.

Fulshear City Council passed a motion at its June 18 meeting to instruct staff to seek outside proposals to determine how the Section House will be used moving forward as well as funding for the project and return within 90 days.

A section house is a railroad-owned dwelling at or near a railroad section used for either housing a section boss and his family or for storing tools and equipment needed to maintain the railroad section from the 1890s-1960s, according to Merriam-Webster.

"The Section House means a lot to me, and I'm sure it means a lot to other people who have lived in this town," longtime Fulshear resident Barney Pfeffer said. "We must remember our roots and remember history. There aren't many section houses left in this country. They've all been torn down, never to be remembered again."

Three contractors—Portfolio Builders Vice President Christian Smith, general contractor William Robinson and Chuck Morris, president of Chuck Morris Estate Homes—have visited the Section House since the May 21 meeting when council agreed to allow city staff to bring historical experts to re-evaluate how much of the Section House can be restored and the cost of both restoration and re-creation for comparison.

Some common findings included concerns about wood damage and termites, estimates of 50% of structural items needing to be replaced and beliefs that most of the two-story structure is original while the back area of the Section House was added on years after it was built.

Two out of three contractors recommended restoration versus re-creation.

Robinson estimated costs ranging from $150,000 to $200,000 for restoration and $300,000 to $500,000 for re-creation. Morris estimated costs from $250,000 to $300,000 for restoration with a 10% contingency.

Meanwhile, Smith recommended re-creation instead of restoration, estimating costs from $375,000 to $450,000.

For the next 90 days, city staff will seek outside help to secure funding to either restore or recreate the historical building.

"We need to keep a little bit of history for the city of Fulshear for generations to see something about the railroad, even if it's not here anymore," Pfeffer said.