Health Care Center's Future In Limbo As Special Election Stalls. What Happens Now?

Decisions about the future of the Portage County Health Center are still in limbo.

After the county's central committee on health and finance voted last week to put a special election on the agenda for Monday night's county council meeting on Aug. 8 to ask voters for more money to build a new health center and run, the plan has stalled...

Deputy Corporation Board Member David Hickethier told council members at the start of Monday's meeting that state law does not allow special elections to exceed the tax collection limit in odd-numbered years. He invited council members to remove the item from the agenda and return it to the committee for further discussion.

Instead, a referendum should be held during the primary, spring or next special general election. District Finance Director Jennifer Josi said at a previous committee meeting that the district could hold a non-special ballot referendum in the spring of 2024.

Although the language of the potential referendum question has not yet been written, the county is expected to ask voters for an additional $2 million annually to build and operate the new health center indefinitely.

This is in addition to the $4.5 million per year for 20-year-old residents approved by referendum in April 2022.

With the special election and referendum looming, the Stevens Point Journal asked Portage County Executive John Pavelski and Facilities Director Todd Neuenfeld about the current state of the health center, how long it can operate in its current state and moving forward. Act with discussions about the future. Center. Does Time County have options?

The Journal received the following email response from Hickethier.

How long can the health center operate under the current conditions?

At a Jan. 24 meeting of the Space and Property and Health Center committee, Neuenfelt expressed concern about the center's upcoming renovations, as the end-of-life boiler, windows and roofing must be replaced and the electrical system continued. . is taxed

"While it's impossible to know when a boiler fails, we do know that boilers and associated piping at health centers are past their useful life," Neuenfeld said in an emailed response to the newspaper after the comments. "Current property improvements include an HVAC system, windows, possible electrical upgrades and a new roof replacement. These renovations are expected to be completed over the next three to seven years."

Pavelski added in an email that many renovations to the health center have been delayed and not spent on the assumption that it would be replaced by a new building, and now "are at risk of not happening."

Pavelski said that he could not say how long the health center would be able to operate because the existing building needs to be renovated. If the county waits until the spring of 2024 and the referendum passes, the new health center could be built at least 18 months later, "at the earliest. That's two and a half years at the most. From now," he said.

Can the district change course and improve existing conditions?

The health center, 825 Whiting Ave., is in physical decline and has struggled financially for more than a decade.

In 2014, then-County Executive Patty Dreyer described the 1931 facility as "outdated" and urged the county to spend $20 million on a new center instead of spending $14 million renovating the existing structure. The administrator of the center said at that time that the facility is outdated and some of the boiler and air conditioning systems need to be replaced.

In 2018, voters approved a temporary measure to cover the health center's budget deficit by approving a referendum to raise taxes by $1.4 million over four years while regional leaders search for a sustainable business plan.

The center faces an ongoing battle as costs for the proposed new center continue to rise, maintenance issues mount and facilities struggle to staff and maintain minimum occupancy numbers.

"I believe the finances discussed at the last meeting indicate that it is not financially feasible to continue operating the current Portage County Health Center and work on renovating the current building," Pavelski said. .

What if the provincial council and voters do not agree to the second referendum?

Forecasts for health centers through the end of 2021 have "changed dramatically in perfect conditions" due to rising costs of building new facilities, rising operating costs and declining revenues, Pavelski said. "What was once a $4.5 million referendum on new construction and ongoing operating costs is now a $6.5 million to $7 million referendum to cover the same costs. This referendum has grown faster than expected."

Pavelski said the new number depends on the district's ability to attract, hire and retain staff to operate the new health center and get enough residents.

Pavelski said that unless the regional council approves another referendum or voters reject a second referendum, the regional council must decide to fund the operational and maintenance costs needed to keep the health centers open.

"If regional administrators don't want to do that, maybe they should consider closing the health care center," he said.

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Editor Jamie Rokus can be reached at jrokus@gannett.com or followed on Twitter at @Jamie_Rokus .

This article originally appeared in the Stevens Point Journal: The future of Portage County health centers as voting booths

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