With little in the means of an explanation, Allen County Hospital trustees switched their focus Tuesday night to the land north of Strickler Dairy as a site to build the new hospital.
After the conclusion of more than an hour in executive session, Karen Gilpin, acting in the stead of chairman Harry Lee, who was absent, called for a vote to issue $17,350 to conduct soil borings on the 20 acres along Oregon Road and U.S. 169. Trustees have kept the option on that parcel since they first expressed interest in early April.
Board members Sean McReynolds, Debbie Roe, Gilpin, Jay Kretzmeier and Tom Miller voted in the affirmative. Patti Boyd abstained.
In a brief comment after the vote, Gilpin said the East Street site “has so many problems and unknowns,” and that trustees had “looked at other sites intently in just the past week,” still in pursuit of a better site.
Many in the audience applauded at the news of what could be the end of discussion for building the hospital in town. Again, the room was packed with area citizens interested in the board’s decision of where to build the 60,000-square-foot hospital.
After the meeting Alan Weber, Allen County counselor, said trustees based their decision “purely on the numbers,” of where it is most feasible to build the hospital.
Engineers and architects for the hospital have cited numerous concerns with the East Street site because of its unstable soil and the cost of its remediation due to years of former smelter operations and other unfavorable uses.
The county also was in the process of legal proceedings against Eldon Strickler of Colony to pursue eminent domain against his property, which was included in the 17-acre parcel. Those proceedings will now be halted with the county obligated to pay any court costs and legal fees Strickler may have incurred in building his defense.
THE TIMING to get financing for the construction of the hospital remains very favorable, said Scott Crist, of UMB Bank in Kansas City.
“Interest rates are as low as we’ve seen, for all of the negative reasons: Unemployment, a slowdown in manufacturing, the upheaval in Greece and slow home sales,” he said. “It’s a great time to borrow money for fixed rate bond issues” which is how the hospital’s construction will be financed.
Crist said he recently oversaw a 20-year loan for a hospital that secured less than a 4 percent interest rate.
IN A DEPARTURE from the last many months, trustees will not meet next week. They will next meet July 12 at 7 p.m.
At the conclusion of the meeting, members of a Hospital Advisory Group held up a festive banner that thanked trustees for their efforts. It was festooned with signatures from the hospital staff.
