Allen County commissioners were unanimous Tuesday morning in fortifying their pursuit of demolition of the old county hospital to create a site for a new grocery and residential development.
That came after Chuck Apt, an Iola attorney, spoke on behalf of Arlyn Briggs, who had proposed to reconfigure the hospital as a care center for Alzheimer’s patients and others.
Apt begged reconsideration, saying Briggs had in hand $157,000 to purchase the building and had arranged to acquire a performance bond from Personal Service Insurance, with “whatever you want in it.”
“Mr. Briggs is serious about doing the project and has the ability and want-to to do it,” Apt said.
In March Briggs proposed to purchase the hospital. He was given until June 1 to provide fiscal and development plans. On May 24, at his request, commissioners met in special session, during which Briggs said he was withdrawing his proposal.
Commissioners then set their sights on the G&W Foods proposal to build a grocery store there and instructed County Counselor Alan Weber to seek bids for the old hospital’s demolition.
Razing is expected to take about three months. Bids are due by 4:30 p.m. on July 3 at the courthouse. David Toland, in his role as Allen County’s adjunct director of economic development, said if demolition meets a three-month deadline, construction of a G&W Foods grocery should start in early 2016.
In his presentation, Apt said if the county continued on the path of demolition, including auction of items still in the hospital, it wouldn’t be feasible for Briggs to continue pursuit of the structure.
“He has the wherewithal and wants to do it,” Apt appealed. “If you want to do the deal, we can get it done.”
Commission Chairman Tom Williams then cut short a contentious exchange between Briggs and Toland, before it hardly started.
According to Toland, the grocery will occupy 72,000 square feet of the site with the store itself containing 15,000 square feet. G&W will pay $29,000 for its portion of the cleared land, with the remainder available for an apartment complex, which is squarely on Iola Industries’ radar. Other housing also is proposed but without plans of consequence to date.
Iolan Jim Lewis, who once owned and operated a number of nursing homes in Iola and elsewhere in Kansas and Missouri, said he was concerned about the county paying — “$300,000 or more” — to have the hospital razed in support of a private business. He also questioned the grocery’s ability to compete with Walmart. It may be noteworthy that G&W has a presence in other cities with Walmart stores, including Chanute.
The Walmart-G&W commentary brought a chorus of remarks from commissioners, all of whom said they had received many calls in support of a new grocery for Iola.
Commissioner Jim Talkington concluded discussion on demolition and its costs, characterizing whatever it costs the county as “a small price to pay for what could come from it.”
County proceeds with grocery plans
