By Kayla Barnes
Already owning the old Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County property became a huge factor in choosing it as the new site for the Lafayette Manor after discussions were made at the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The board unanimously approved going forward with the old hospital site with the 12 supervisors present.
Several months of discussion have been taking place about building a new Lafayette Manor and at last month’s meeting, the board approved the verbiage that will be on the November ballot asking the county constituents to allow the county to go above the levy by $45.5 million to build a new Manor. That number was calculated by Kyle Kraemer from Kraemer Brothers, estimating all the costs of building at either the old hospital site or on a new parcel. Two properties, both in the town of Darlington, were considered – one owned by Greg White (south of the First Baptist Church) and the other by John Gile (south of the current Lafayette Hospital + Clinics). The White property was considered more than the Gile property due to White negotiating price and acres of land with the county. Recently Gile had called District #3 Supervisor and Board Chairman Jack Sauer about his willingness to negotiate on price with less acreage.
At a Manor informational meeting on August 24, District #15 Supervisor Scott Pedley had mention his recent discussions about the cost of running water, sewer, telephone, fiber – infrastructure – to the White property. Kraemer had estimated the cost around $500,000 but Pedley mentioned the price could be as high as $4 million.
Sauer had asked former City of Darlington mayor, Mike McDermott, who has worked in the public works career for 57 years, to give the board a rough idea of costs for infrastructure for either parcel.
When discussing the White property, McDermott stated the topography of the land would most likely have them putting in a lift station for sewer for gravity flow, which could be anywhere between $250,000-$1 million depending on the size needed. With the Gile property, the same thing would need to happen with putting in a lift station, that would hook up to the manhole to the west of the emergency room. There is also the possibility of a needing a pressure reducing valve/station to prevent any pipe stress or sewer overflows, costing another $75,000 with the water. McDermott was unsure for the cost of telephone, fiber optics, or television. There are also costs like road, curb and gutter, gas and power lines. There are also costs if the county were to run into rock when they dig.
In doing some comparable pricing, McDermott estimated that infrastructure for either property would cost about $4 million. “It is expensive to build,” McDermott added.
Sauer was grateful for McDermott’s insight, having an idea of what the county could get themselves into if they were to build instead of going in blind and picking a site and then finding out these numbers. Pedley agreed that McDermott’s information was very valuable and an eye opener. Sauer said the feelings of some county constituents, coming back to the board, was they would vote for a new manor if it were to go on the old hospital site. Sauer said his vote would be for the old hospital site. District #4 Supervisor John Reichling agreed with Sauer.
District #1 Supervisor Larry Ludlum really wanted to see them get out of the old Lafayette Manor facility and into something new to make it more appealing for the people of Lafayette County and for the residents. A letter written by Lafayette County resident Jason Davis asked the county to consider adding hospice rooms into the design of the manor for those needing end of life services, like Davis’ father needed, taking some of the burden off of families looking for that additional care, so family members can pass peacefully. Sauer added that the Lafayette Manor is limited to their 50 beds but liked the idea of hospice rooms and felt the county should look into that as they move along.
District #14 Supervisor Emmett Reilly made the motion to build the Lafayette Manor on the old hospital site with Reichling seconding. The motion passed.
Reilly also mentioned how they need to request bids for demolishing the old hospital because no matter what happens, if they do end up building there or not, that building needs to come down. The county does not want to keep it up any longer then it needs to be. Sauer stated there are still items in the building that could be salvaged but they should get moving on getting bids. Lafayette County Economic Development Director Allison Taylor mentioned that Redevelopment Resources that helped with the public Manor presentations suggested that the county include the community in helping with some of the demolition, as in creating a fundraiser to sell some of the bricks of the hospital or auction off the first strike of the building, to make it memorable for everyone. The building will still need to come down even if the referendum doesn’t pass, Sauer mentioned.
Community meetings
All of this information and all of the information that was given during the two Manor community meetings in August will be coming to communities throughout Lafayette County so that everyone is informed before going to the polls in November. The meetings will take place on every Thursday evening in October, giving the constituents five chances to learn about this project. These meetings are open to anyone to attend, so if you are unable to make it to the meeting in your area, there are other opportunities. The sessions are as followed: October 1 at 6:00 p.m. at Belmont Community Building in Belmont; October 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the Townsend Center in Shullsburg; October 15 at 5:30 p.m. at the Multipurpose Building in Darlington; October 22 at 5:30 p.m. at The Legacy of Argyle in Argyle; and October 29 at 5:30 p.m. at the Village Inn in South Wayne.