LIVINGSTON, Texas – The associate pastor of Life Vine Church in Livingston gives KPRC 2′s Reporter Rilwan Balogun and Photojournalist Wlad Moquete a tour of the church’s fellowship hall.
“This is where the magic happens,” Associate Pastor Justin Fryar jokes. “This is where we prepare the meals. This window is where we normally serve them. So that’s secured. All of this, we could cook right this second, but we can’t serve because of the hole out there. It’s just something else.”
The hole Fryar is referring to is the sinkhole just steps away from the fellowship hall.
Over time, it’s grown from a small hole into roughly 10 feet and growing sinkhole.
The first time, members of the church noticed the hole, they called the city. At that time, it was at a corner near the service window.
Fryar said someone with the city came by and put dirt in. Then the hole got wider. The church called. The city put more dirt in.
“Each time over the last three and three and a half years that’s what they’ve done and that had been their solution and then this opened up and now we get to see what happens when you don’t take care of your responsibility,” said Fryar.
“We just are fearful that we’re going to lose our building and we don’t have the funds to rebuild it,” said Gay Tate, a member of the church.
Livingston City Manager Bill Wiggins in a statement to KPRC 2 said the city is working to repair it.
“The City’s Engineer is in the process of finalizing the design plans and will be releasing the Request for Proposals (RFP’s),” Wiggins said. “The engineer has been made aware that this project is to be expedited. The timeline for the project will be included within the RFP.”
However, since there isn’t a timeline, the congregation worries the fix may not come soon enough. Especially, as Hurricane Beryl approaches, they fear any rain will force the sinkhole to grow. They said the May 1st flood confirms their fears.
“It was even before the big rains came,” Tate said. “The whole thing just collapsed. And the big rain that came and flooded this community had just made it worse.”
The congregation said as flood waters covered parts of the city, it naturally filled the sinkhole chipping parts of the ground away with it.
“It just continued to wash away,” Fryar said. “The water continued to take ground and take ground and take ground. If we’re on the dirty side of this hurricane, I can’t imagine what it’s going to do.”
A short drive-up South Houston Avenue at the SPCA of Polk County appears to be another sinkhole.
“It was a little smaller and then the flood came through,” said Christina Ross, the SPCA of Polk County Operations Coordinator. “When the flood came through, the creek just ran it over. It broke through here. It tore down the fencing and part of the dog park. It cut through the other side, and it just kept going.”
KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun asked Fryar what they were hoping for by speaking with them.
“I hope that the city hears our cry,” Fryar said. “The city understands the importance of this thing. The city understands the importance of we’re going to be losing buildings, property, and ministry and effectiveness in our community. And so, I really hope that hey hear that.”