A site plan clears the way for construction to begin on a new Allen County Hospital.
Iola City Council members approved the plan for a 30-acre parcel of land along North Kentucky Street at their regular meeting Monday. The county hopes to begin construction in April.
The site plan approval followed an extensive discussion about the wear and tear Kentucky Street may sustain after the hospital is built.
Councilman Joel Wicoff pointed to a traffic study released to the city earlier this month that revealed the increased traffic associated with the hospital would not require widening Kentucky or the addition of a turning lane
But the study did not take into account the road’s structural integrity, said Wicoff, an engineer by trade. He wondered whether heavier vehicles, such as ambulances, could damage the road.
“If we’re putting up a nice facility, we need to have nice access,” Wicoff said. “From an engineer’s standpoint, I’m very concerned about that road.”
Fellow councilman Steve French also wondered about Kentucky’s access during wintry weather. In years past, the city would close off that stretch of Kentucky because city trucks would be at risk of riding off the road because it has no curbs and guttering. City crews would not be able to do that when the hospital opens.
But, French noted, the hospital was being built along Kentucky at the city’s insistence, instead of along Oregon Road and nearer U.S. 169.
“The road is a separate issue,” French said, adding that approving the site plan would be a sign of the city’s “good neighbor” policy with the county.
Councilman Kendall Callahan, while echoing Wicoff’s concerns about Kentucky, agreed with French the site plan should be considered independently.
“What’s the message we’re sending by delaying this?” Callahan asked. “We would have had concerns if we built along Oregon Road.”
The council approved French’s motion, 6-1, to ratify the site plan, while directing Street and Alley Superintendent Dan Leslie to put Kentucky Street maintenance and upgrades higher on the city’s priority list.
Wicoff was opposed and Councilman Beverly Franklin was absent.
In a related matter, Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock told councilmen work is proceeding to extend water, natural gas and electric utilities to the hospital site. He estimated that crews are at about the halfway point.
Hospital trustees have said they hope to have construction complete by the fall of 2013.
