New Public Health Center would be costly
New Public Health Center would be costly
Facility's sale called unlikely
Kevin Graman, Spokesman Review April 11, 2006
The possible sale of the Public Health Center "has been blown greatly out of proportion," the chairman of the Spokane County commissioners told the health board Monday.
Two separate estimates have revealed the building would be very expensive to replace.
The Spokane Regional Health District's board, which met Monday in a special session to discuss the issue, learned that the building at 1101 W. College Ave. is appraised at $7 million. However, Sweitzer Co. Inc., the county's appraiser, estimated the cost of replacing it at $19 million.
Health district officials, concerned that the county's appraisal would not reflect the true value of the building, asked a contractor who specializes in medical buildings to estimate the cost of constructing another health facility. Bouten Construction put that figure somewhere between $25 million and $29 million.
Health center attributes that officials said would make the building more expensive to replace include a vital-records vault, vaccine and medication storage facilities and negative pressure ventilation to prevent transmission of infection.
Discussion about possible sale of the building, which is owned by the county, to the developers of the nearby Kendall Yards project was revealed to the health board at its meeting March 23, the day after health district employees encountered appraisers in the building.
At Monday's meeting, county Commissioner Todd Mielke, who also is chairman of the health board, scolded the district's health officer, Dr. Kim Thorburn, for politicizing the issue by claiming she was "left in the dark" about discussions between county officials and representatives for developer Marshall Chesrown.
Mielke said Thorburn and health district administrator Torney Smith were made aware of discussions regarding the building as early as Feb. 3 and the appraisal should have come as no surprise.
"This appears to be a personal agenda for Kim," Mielke wrote in a summary of the issue he made available Monday. He criticized Thorburn for raising objections in the media rather than allowing the health board to take a position.
Thorburn said she was told of the discussions but considered the possibility of a sale remote until the appraisal, which she said came without notice.
"It seemed like they were moving pretty quickly, and I was left out of the loop," Thorburn said Monday.
Health board members, appearing eager to move beyond the dispute between their chairman and their health officer, decided it was premature to take a position on the possible sale until an offer has been made.
Mielke said no one besides Kendall Yards has expressed interest in the building.
County Commissioner Phil Harris, also a health board member, repeated that the county would accept no deal for the building that did not include a new facility as good as the current one or better.
Given the estimated cost of replacement, he said, such a deal appears unlikely.
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Apr 11, 2006
