The first of two informational meetings about the Lafayette Manor was held on August 11 at the Multipurpose building in Darlington. The second meeting will be August 24 at 5:30 p.m. also at the Multipurpose building. This meeting will be to answer questions and give the community a time to express what they want to see for the Lafayette Manor. Those who came to the first meeting will given preference to discuss their thoughts. All are welcome to learn more.
Following the public engagement, the county board of supervisors will meet on August 25 at 7:30 p.m. at the Multipurpose building to make a definite decision on which strategic option should be selected. August 25 is the last day the county board can vote on that and get it to the state for the referendum.
Kristen Fish-Peterson and Dayna Sarver from Redevelopment Resources presented to the group all of the information regarding the studies done by EUA and Kraemer Brothers, along with the two options for the future of the Manor.
Lafayette Manor has 116 dedicated employees. They have $3.36 million in annual payroll, which makes them one of the largest employers in the county. They have $6.2 million in operating revenue. The county supports this facility only to the tune of 8.9 percent above that $6.2 million operating revenue, or about $550,000. Over 91 percent is self-funded through the care revenues. Lafayette Manor is a major economic engine in the county.
Two independent studies were conducted. EUA looked at the existing building conditions, code compliance, infrastructure, and test fit concepts. Kraemer Brothers looked at construction feasibility, cost estimating, practical implementation, and comparative analysis. The Lafayette Manor is operationally and structurally sound. It has a solid mason reconstruction, recently replaced roof, adequate ceiling heights, and manageable MEP upgrades required for long term service. The building is sound. But the building is no longer suitable or able to meet the State requirements for a long-term skilled nursing facility.
The old Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County (MHLC) building is not vacant. There are severe infrastructure deficiencies. There are ADA compliance barriers, obsolete electrical distribution, fragmented end of the life end of life HVAC, noncompliant 50 plus year old sprinklers, and structural layout limits.
Lafayette County has 21.2 percent of the population of the whole county made up of senior citizens, age 65 plus, which is 1/5 of the population. It is higher than the state and the national average, with the state’s average is 19.6 percent, and the national average is 18 percent. Those age 55 plus and 65 plus represent the fastest growing demographic segment in the region.
With that growing demographic there are a large number of single senior households, which amplify the local demand for accessible supportive infrastructure. People want to stay in their own homes longer. There is a high demand for housing in Lafayette County. Local employers report a severe workforce housing shortages. Lafayette County could have the opportunity to solve two crises simultaneously: securing long-term skilled nursing care and introducing 12 to 44 new housing units to the local market.
Option one is to build a new skilled nursing facility on the MHLC site. The estimated cost for this is $44.5 million. The pros for this option are the property is county-owned. It leverages existing infrastructure from the MHLC building. Cons include a significant upfront capital requirement for campus redevelopment.
The second option is to tear down the MHLC building and put a new skilled nursing facility on a different site. The estimated cost for this is $45.6 million, approximately. The pros include that it provides an optimal site layout, parking, and future expansion flexibility enabled by a modern campus tailored completely to senior care standards. This would required new land acquisition and utility tie-ins.
Both options would require demolishing the old MHLC building. That property is approximately two acres from Lucy Street to Harriet Street. The estimated total cost for demolishing the building would be $500,000 Allison Taylor, Lafayette County Economic Development Director stated that the county understands that the old MHLC Family Clinic and the Health Department and Housing Authority are on that lot as well. There is discussions about leaving those buildings alone and just build a new facility on the northern part of the property. That is still being considered.
The property looking at being purchased is owned by Greg White. It is located east of the First Baptist Church. He is willing to sell 10 to 15 acres at $26,000 an acre, or $390,000 total for 15 acres, at about $1,000 per foot. A retention pond would be about $100,000 for 10 acres of service.
If the county choose the second option, the MHLC would still be raised. It could then be sold to a developer to building housing. There has not been any discussion as to what type of housing as there have been no talks with a developer. County board Chairman Jack Sauer felt that the county would want to work with the city to decide what type of housing would be best for them before they sell the land.
The Manor currently sits on city of Darlington property so the thought was after the county vacates the building, it would all revert back to the city. Sauer again stated the could would be willing to work with the city to decide what would be fair. He felt that the building could be turned into apartments as well for additional housing opportunities.
“If you were going to turn the old Manor building into apartments, the standard to do that is far lower than fixing it up further for a nursing home,” Sauer said.
Sauer acknowledged the need for the Manor in Lafayette County and keeping the facility open for families to keep their loved ones local.
“There’s not any other counties in Wisconsin building a nursing home right now. If the county doesn’t do it, there’s not anybody else we feel is going to come in to do it. We need it. I just feel it we don’t do it, nobody will,” Sauer said.
There were questions on the amount of beds available at the Manor and building this new facility could they acquire more. Lafayette Manor Administrator Katrina Houtakker stated they are licensed for 50 beds. They are not able to go up from that.
Manor Committee member Mary Knellwolf explained that once they reduce the amount of beds, the state does not allow there to be an increase. The Manor used to be around 80 beds years ago. They are now at a manageable and realistic number with 50. They have a consistent number of 41 people in the nursing home who all need care at this time. With the discussions of Dodgeville closing their skilled nursing facility in the next year, Lafayette Manor could acquire some people from that facility.
“If you don’t have a loved one there, it doesn’t seem that important to you. The minute you have a loved on there, this all becomes extremely important to you,” Knellwolf said.
Kyle Kraemer from Kraemer Brothers will be at the next meeting and will have better figures for each of the options.
The next meeting will be August 24 at 5:30 p.m. at the Multipurpose building. The presentation and powerpoint from the information meeting is on the Lafayette County website along with the feasibility studies.