Fate of hospital's $18 million project could be decided at meeting Mar. 29

At a called public meeting between the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners and the Wills Memorial Hospital Authority, the Authority is expected to formally ask that the county back its plan for financing of a "regeneration" project at the hospital.

The meeting is set for 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 29. It is open to the public.

The regeneration plan is an $18 million project that involve new construction, refurbishment, and demolition of the current 46-yearold hospital structure. The result would be an enlarged and betterequipped hospital up to current building codes and "able to serve for another 50 years," authority spokesmen say.

Meanwhile, the existing building is suffering from almost 50 years of wear and Authority members are worried that the structure, especially the plumbing, could fail "catastrophically" at any time resulting in a total or partial shutdown of operations.

However, while the hospital has shown significant financial progress for a number of years and is now operating "in the black," traditional lenders have been hesitant to loan funds to the institution. But in seekand ing its funding, the Authority found that a bond issue, if backed and guaranteed by the county, could provide the funds quicker and more simply than a federal government loan.

The Authority is confident that the county would never actually have to spend any money on the project. "The only way the county would ever have to pay is if the hospital went to hell in a handbasket," Wills Memorial CEO Marvin Goldman said.

However, if the hospital did fail, the county's annual liability would be over $1 million annually until the end of the term. Commissioners worry about having to raise taxes if that should happen.

Details of the plan were reported in last week's edition of The News- Reporter.

Commissioners will probably be asked to decide the county's role at next Thursday's meeting. However, while that may happen, there is also a possibility that the decision may be delayed until the board's regular meeting on April 12 in order for commissioners to seek further public input.

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