STARKVILLE — After some heated discussion Thursday, the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors took a step toward increasing the county’s bonding capacity.
The county is allowed to borrow up to 15 percent of its total assessed value. With an assessed value of $307 million, the county can borrow approximately $46 million.
Supervisors on Thursday voted unanimously to petition the state Legislature to increase its bonding capacity from 15 percent to 20 percent. Twenty percent of $307 million would be more than $61 million.
Thursday’s vote came with less than two weeks remaining before the board opens bids for the Oktibbeha County Hospital construction project.
The county has approximately $22.1 million available in unused debt, which will go toward the hospital project. Supervisors are worried the cost of the hospital renovations will “wipe out” what’s left of the $22.1 million, which could leave the county in a perilous position if a natural disaster struck and the board needed to borrow money.
“If an emergency came along, like Hurricane Katrina or something like that and we needed to borrow money, we could do that (with an increase from 15 to 20 percent),” County Administrator Don Posey said.
Hospital bond
The board also wanted to increase its bonding capacity in case the hospital project costs more than the $21 million estimate.
As part of the renovations, new patient rooms will be constructed and old rooms will be renovated. Additional patient rooms will be located in a new tower the hospital plans to have built.
Among other improvements, the hospital will renovate its birthing suites and, when complete, the facility will feature a state-of-the-art Caesarian section suite and recovery area. Patients also will encounter a new newborn nursery and viewing area, enlarged nurse stations and patient triage and observation rooms.
Plans also include a new drop-off and pickup area for patients and families, new elevators and restrooms, comfortable waiting spaces and new parking decks to make up for spaces lost due to construction.
Permission to issue GO bonds
District 2 Supervisor Orlando Trainer, who has spoken out repeatedly against the use of general obligation bonds to pay for hospital improvements, also questioned the need to petition the Legislature.
“Why would we go to the Legislature now to ask them to allow us to increase our capacity when we knew what our capacity was before we entered into this project?” Trainer said. “To me, that’s a bad reflection on the board. It makes us look like we really don’t know what we’re doing.”
Still, Trainer voted in favor of petitioning the Legislature. He said he wants the extra bonding capacity, if approved, to go toward road improvement projects.
The bid opening for the Oktibbeha County Hospital project is scheduled for Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. in the board room of the Oktibbeha County Courthouse. It was originally slated for today, but an advertising mistake pushed the date back to February.
Concerned, OHC is a bad excuse for a first aid station and should be closed or operated by an administration that is interested in medical care, not enlarging rooms, new carpet, furniture and paint. After having a recent experience with OHC, I can assure you, my family will take our chances of getting to Louisville, Columbus, or Tupelo, but stopping at OHC is not an option. The citizens of Starkville were suckered into the bond and I can only hope we don't continue to get taken to the cleaners on this deal.
Finally! Making the rooms bigger would be a wonderful inprovement to OCH. Some of the older rooms are SO small there isn't room for anything. I think OCH is a great hospital, I go there instead of our local hospital in Louisville.
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