Happy to have a place to call home, Allen County Hospital trustees announced at their meeting Tuesday night they will begin the process of buying land on North Kentucky Street as the site for a new hospital.
Earlier in the evening, Iola Council members approved by a 7-2 vote to rezone the 25 acres from residential to commercial. The vote overturned an earlier decision by the Iola Planning Commission to deny hospital trustees the change in designation of the land.
Trustees also were relieved city officials agreed to extend gas, water and electric services to the Hopper property, which audience member Carl Letsinger referred to as “Jack Rabbit Hill. Used to be thick with them there.”
Now that the site has been determined, trustees asked engineer Phil Schultze of Murray Construction to ensure drainage is sufficient.
“Can we over-engineer this potential problem without incurring substantial costs?” asked Harry Lee, chairman of hospital trustees. “That would solve a lot of ‘I told you sos’ in the future.”
The existing pond on the site could be enlarged to accommodate excessive runoff as one measure, Schultze said.
Also on Schultze’s mind was the water pressure and flow to the new hospital from city lines.
“It’s as bad as can be imagined,” he said.
Using the water from the pond for emergency uses was suggested by Schultze.
“We need to make sure it has enough water to provide 1.5 hours of continuous service,” he said. A pumper truck could access the pond water directly.
A water line owned by Rural Water District No. 5 also runs along the south side of Oregon, which may be accessed for emergency uses.
Steve Strickler of Strickler Dairy, directly to the east of the site, proposed use of a fresh-water pond on his land for either drainage or as a supply of water.
“Getting access to it from under Kentucky Street would be a challenge,” Schultze said. “Unfortunately, we’re past the days of building aqueducts.”
Architect David Wright of Health Facilities Group said a study of the traffic along Kentucky and Oregon roads is now in order to determine needed turn lanes, sidewalks and curbs around the new hospital.
THE BID CLIMATE remains healthy in securing funds to build the new hospital, Schultze said.
“Predictions are to see an increase in costs, but we haven’t felt that,” Schultze said. “If it’s there, it’s pretty minimal.”
