Hospital options discussed at meetings this week

Two public meetings were held this week to discuss the future of the Dahl Memorial Healthcare facility. The June 2 issue of the Eagle showed three different options that Slate Architecture, which has been leading the design team for the project, has presented to the county.

The goal of the meetings was to get public input on four options that were presented. None of the options have finalized plans. Instead, the design team and county commissioners will take input from the meetings and use it to decide which of the four options is best for the hospital, and taxpayers. Once they find a preferred option, they will begin to finalize the plan before it is presented to the public in the form of a bond.

The first option is very minimal. Basically, the ventilation, plumbing, and electrical would be fixed. This option would take around eight or nine months to complete and would cost somewhere around $3,675,000.

The second option is to build an entirely new facility at a new location near the corner of East Speelmon Street and Highway 323. This option would take around 12-14 months to complete and would cost around $14,740,000.

Another option would be to demolish the clinic portion of the current facility and completely renovate and rework the rest of the existing facility, adding square footage. This option would take the longest, somewhere around 2 years, since they will have to do construction while keeping the facility operational. It would cost about $13,805,000.

The last option presented is to renovate the existing facility, but do less. This option would cost somewhere around $8,805,000 and would take between 14 and 16 months to complete.

Again, none of these plans are finalized. The county is hoping to gain input before the preliminary architectural report is finalized this summer. After a direction is decided, changes can still be made, which could change the final bond amount.

Upon the conclusion of the meetings, those who attended were asked to vote for which option they preferred. Commissioners will take these votes and opinions from the public into consideration.

Dahl Memorial staff will be hosting a walk-through next Tuesday, June 5, at 5:00 p.m. All are encouraged to attend so that they can see firsthand the space constraints and problems with the current facility.

County residents may view the plans and seek additional information at the courthouse. Comments should be submitted to the Clerk and Recorder’s office by early next week.