City Advances Hospital Plan
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 by Catherine Stortz Ripley, C-T

CAPTION: The Chillicothe City Council voted 4-1 to proceed with a study regarding the replacement of the existing Hedrick Medical Center with a newer facility. The vote occurred Monday night during the regular council meeting at City Hall. The plan to replace the entire hospital was questioned, but no opposition was voiced at the meeting about replacing the doctor’s building.

C-T Photo/Laura Schuler

The City of Chillicothe is taking the next step in a plan to determine whether to build a new hospital. With a 4-1 vote, council members on Monday night approved an ordinance to spend up to $188,300 to enter the next phase for professional services with WIPFLI CPA and Consultants. The funds for this next step will come from the regular hospital lease payments which are made to the city by Saint Luke’s Health System for the operation of the city-owned hospital.

The firm has studied the feasibility of building a new hospital as well as substantially renovating the existing facility and presented the findings to the City Council during the regular meeting Monday night at City Hall. Following the presentation, members of the Hospital Facility Planning Committee — which had heard a more a detailed presentation a few weeks ago — made their formal recommendation to the council that they would like to see the city proceed with plans to build a new hospital. Third Ward Councilman Tom Douglas voted against plans to proceed with the study, stating that the city was moving too fast on the concept and that he wanted the citizens — not just the city council — to decide whether to build a new hospital.

In the presentation, WIPFLI directors John Dao and Kelly Arduino provided market and demand assessments, financial affordability analysis and square footage requirements. In this next phase, WIPFLI will conduct a site analysis and selection process with up to three potential locations identified, including the site where the existing hospital is located. Dao said that the existing hospital faces issues that other hospitals of this vintage face, including significant privacy issues between patients and the public, inadequate space issues, and inefficient energy infrastructure. Aside from physical concerns, an older facility would be less likely to effectively retain specialists.

Dao said that a new hospital would provide more efficiency, more privacy, better clinical care, better infection control and more space. He said that in HMC's specialty clinic, on certain days, the waiting room is so crowded that people must sit on the floor. He encouraged the city to "strike while the iron is hot" in order to take advantage of lower construction costs as well as government programs that create low interest rates.

The overall plan calls for project costs of $52.5 million, plus the cost of site acquisition if the facility would be built somewhere other than the existing hospital site. Of this amount, $5 million would be paid by the city and $3.5 million through a capital campaign. The city's portion of the project could be paid for through the existing capital improvements sales tax which is due to expire in 2027. That tax generates around $750,000 annually. The balance would be paid for through Medicare reimbursements and revenues generated by hospital services, Arduino said.

Rollie Stadlman, a community member, encouraged the city council to take action. "Chillicothe has visionary leadership and entrepreneurial spirit," he said. "Hedrick Medical Center is one of the best critical access hospitals in the country." But, he continued, the facility lacks in energy and staffing efficiency and the ability to recruit and retain physicians. He also stated that the window of opportunity to take advantage of government programs for low interest loans is open for only a short time.

Douglas said that he'd still like to give the residents of the community an opportunity to decide whether a new hospital should be built. Robert Cowherd, a city attorney, stated that eventually, the residents would have an opportunity to vote on the project in order to approve the issuance of revenue bonds. "This is the most important project we have ever done," Cowherd said. He noted that the hospital is the third largest employer in Chillicothe and having a quality hospital is necessary for jobs, economic development and industry recruitment.

A community member in attendance asked what the lease agreement would be between the city and Saint Luke's, questioning the level of commitment from Saint Luke's. Don Sipes, representing Saint Luke's, said that the hospital has made dramatic strides in the scope of services and quality of care. "Saint Luke's wants to continue that partnership," he said. "We are a concerned and conservative partner."

The WIPFLI representatives stated that the new facility would actually be smaller than the existing hospital, but would reconfigure the space to maximize service. The proposal would call for construction starting in July 2010 and being completed in December 2011.

City Receives $92,368 Payment from Lawsuit
Constitution-Tribune, Thursday, July 30, 2009

The city of Chillicothe is the beneficiary of $92,368 as a result of a class action lawsuit with AT&T Mobility. This is the second payment from AT&T and the city is still waiting to receive its portion of settlement funds from T-Mobile, according to City Treasurer Sherry Parks. The lawsuit was brought against the company to recover unpaid business license taxes.

This latest settlement agreement was approved by Chillicothe City Council members during their regular meeting Monday evening at City Hall. These funds will be placed in the city’s general revenue fund.

Also during the council meeting, city officials heard a report regarding the city’s involvement in the DREAM (Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri) initiative. The city was named as a DREAM community several years ago which provides the community with access to the technical and financial assistance necessary to accomplish downtown revitalization plans. The brief presentation was given by Patrick Hanlon, of PGAV, a consultant agency hired to handle a portion of the DREAM program for the state.

Hanlon told the council that his company has finished much of the information gathering process and has been pleased with the work already started with Silvermoon Plaza, a project of Main Street Chillicothe. The plaza, being constructed on the vacant site of three historic buildings that were razed, was featured on the back cover of the July DREAM Newsletter. PGAV worked with Chillicothe officials to design a creative multi-use plaza at this site. The DREAM initiative is administered locally by Main Street Chillicothe.

Also Monday night, the council passed an ordinance amending which outlines how meeting agendas should be developed, announced and followed. Each meeting must have an agenda prepared by the board chairman or committee head or their designee. The public must be given an opportunity to speak about any item on the agenda. The committee chair may prescribe time limits to facilitate the meeting. Additionally, the agenda must be published 24 hours in advance of the meeting and copies must be sent to the city clerk who will post them on the front door of the committee/board's location and make agendas immediately available to the public. Finally, the amended ordinance states that each committee or board must follow the agenda unless amended or tables pursuant to Robert's Rules of Order.

In other business, the council:

• Approved Mayor Chuck Haney's appointment of Earle Teegarden to fill a vacancy on the Planning and Zoning Board, replacing Don Jackson who was unable to serve longer due to term limits.
• Heard an update by Ron Urton of the city's contracted engineering firm stating that this year's street overlay program was completed, and he provided an update of the Third Street project. All concrete work on the east side of the railroad tracks was complete except sidewalks. The contractor was doing backfill behind the curbs, and CMU was working on replacing the water main on the west side of the railroad tracks.
• Approved the payment of invoices, $167,763, and payroll, $149,293.81.

Superintendent of Streets to Oversee Parks Department

Chillicothe Street Superintendent Hugh Musselman will temporarily oversee the parks department as well as maintain his regular street department duties. His responsibilities were expanded following approval from the city council members during their executive session Monday night, July 27. The restructuring was unanimous by the council following the resignation of parks director Ron Krammes effective August 1 (see related article below).

Musselman's appointment is temporary and plans are to recruit a permanent director would be determined sometime in the future.

In other business, the council voted 3-2 to give City Administrator Dean Brookshier the authority to hire someone to handle the duties of the ball field manager. These duties are currently being performed by Josh Norris. Councilmen Darrel Rinehart, Sid Cornell, and Paul Howard voted in favor of the expanded duties, while Councilmen Maurice Zion and Tom Douglas voted against the motion.

Parks Director Resigns

Ron Krammes, Director of Chillicothe Parks and Recreation, submitted his resignation to Chillicothe City Council members during executive session Monday night. Krammes has been an employee of the parks department for 11 years, starting as athletic facilities manager. Krammes was hired as director last year to fill the vacancy left by Ed Crawford who had resigned. Krammes cites personal reasons for resigning. The council unanimously accepted the resignation, which is effective July 31.