PERRY CO., IN (WFIE) -
Plans to build a new hospital in Perry County got another green light Thursday.
City leaders signed off on a deal that would use tax dollars to cover the cost of the new facility if the hospital can't make its loan payments.
The current hospital was built in 1950 and has been renovated twice since then.
Hospital officials say it's time for new building, but people who live in Perry County think that more renovations would be just fine.
However, the project is moving forward.
The new Perry County Memorial Hospital will be built near the intersection of highways 37 and 237.
"They have made the decision to build a new hospital for many different reasons. And they are working out how to finance that hospital," said Perry County Attorney Chris Goffinet.
Goffinet says a 40 year, $40 million loan issued by the USDA will cover part of the construction.
"In order for that to happen, the county has to provide a tax back up," said Goffinet. "What that basically means is, the plans for the hospital are that the loan would be repaid through hospital revenue."
And if the revenue isn't enough, tax funds will be used to pay back the loan. But Goffinet says a feasibility shows, that scenario is unlikely.
"I think it's way too much money to be spending on a plant we've already got," said resident Alden Freeman.
Freeman lives near the proposed site of the new hospital. He sees nothing wrong with the current building.
"If you've got an existing plant, and everything is in place, I don't really quite understand why they want a new one," he said.
On the surface, the current hospital seems to be in fine condition, but CEO Joe Stuber says the real problems exist, underground.
"Most of the boilers, most of the electrical switching gear, a lot of the h/v a/c has been there. And it just all has a lot of age on it," Stuber said. "And if we don't do something, we're going to have to be replacing all of it over the next five or six years."
And according to the study, Stuber says those renovations would be more costly than a new building.
Stuber says some of the electrical equipment at the hospital is so old, the hospital has been approached by people interested in displaying it at a museum.
Goffinet says the next step is to hire someone to build the new hospital, which they say could go up as early as 2015.
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The new Perry County Memorial Hospital will be built near the intersection of highways 37 and 237.
