Hospital board reviews failed bond issue vote

    On the heels of a $20.5 million hospital bond vote defeat, Chase County Community Hospital board members, administration and a commissioner held a postmortem on the election.
    Their regular meeting last Thursday fell just two days after voters turned back a bond request of $20.5 million by a decisive margin, 984-704.
    County Commissioner Dennis Kunneman joined the discussion that explored factors of why the vote didn’t pass.
    CEO Steve Lewis said he was somewhat surprised by the margin but is conscious of the present economic situation the ag community is facing. “I understand where they’re coming from as far as the taxes go.”
    Kunneman asked about other reasons why the vote did not pass, outside of cost and the tax burden.
    Lewis said some people were upset there was not a vote on the first plan for an all new stand-alone facility. The guaranteed maximum price on that came in at $30 million.
    By the same token, he had people who said they were glad to see part of the existing facility being used. That brought the cost down to $25 million.
    Others were disappointed the plan didn’t include new space for the physical therapy and cardiac rehab units, he added.
    Some thought board members should be elected. That would have been possible under a hospital district that was formed by a petition effort in May 2010 only to be reversed by county voters two years later.
    Lewis also thought the information that was put out at town hall meetings got skewed.
    “People talking back and forth and saying this and accusing that—this isn’t true and that isn’t true,” he said, along with other multiple rumors.
    Then there were people who thought the current hospital should be remodeled. Board member Merrilyn Liebbrandt said a study showed remodeling would cost more than a new facility.
    “Did we not get that across that it will cost them more?”
    She and board member Bob Mendenhall both noted that remodeling is just not an option.

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