What a difference the A Team can make.
Through expedited measures, a new Allen County Hospital may be able to break ground as soon as September on a site on the east side of town, trustees learned at their meeting Tuesday night.
“We don’t have to worry about bureaucracy holding us up,” said Sheldon Streeter, project developer with Murray Construction, the firm overseeing the new hospital’s construction.
The process to complete soil studies on the East Street properties has leapfrogged over obstacles thanks to guidance provided by Rick Bean of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Terracon, the firm hired to deal with the contaminated soil.
“You’ve been able to do in one week what took us six months,” said Dr. Brian Wolfe, referring to the construction of the physicians’ clinic and drive-through pharmacy at 1408 East St.
Engineers for the new hospital can bypass drawing up a voluntary cleanup proposal and move straight to submitting a plan of construction to KDHE, Streeter said.
“A big unknown has been lifted,” he said. “We can start construction much sooner than anticipated.”
That news gives more urgency for trustees to decide where to place the hospital on the 19-acre site.
The results of soil borings of 11 parcels of land should be available by next week’s meeting, said David Wright, architect with Health Facilities Group. Those results will help determine whether the hospital would best be built either north or south of Monroe Street, which divides the site.
A DOWNER to the meeting was the holdout by Eldon Strickler of Colony to not accept an offer from trustees for his 3.1 acres on the site.
Strickler was not at the meeting, but was represented by his attorney, Bob Johnson.
The average price for the parcels has been $35,600 an acre.
Johnson met with trustees in executive session.
Harry Lee, chairman of trustees, said at the conclusion of the private meeting with Johnson, there was “no news to report,” of the discussion, signaling the two parties are still at odds.
Trustees have hoped the process of eminent domain against Strickler could be interrupted by a settlement.
