Rooney: WMC renovation project back on track

The Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors met in a workshop setting on Sept. 5 in the lobby of the hospital to discuss a number of items related to the operation of the facility, and to revisit the hope that a new medical campus will be built in the borough. Borough Manager Tim Rooney gave the board – and residents of the borough – hope as he informed the group that the WMC renovation project was ready to move forward, contingent only upon approval of a new loan package from the US Department of Agriculture. “The USDA is who the loan is through for the hospital project,” Rooney told the board. “In July we participated in discussions with USDA and they told us at that time they would probably move from the loan being through ARRA, and move it to a more traditional funding source.” ARRA stands for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a stimulus package signed into law in 2009 for the purpose of economic recovery and building up infrastructure, education, health, and green energy projects. Rooney said that a loan from new and different funding sources could benefit the borough in the end. “That would relieve us from some requirements through ARRA funds that aren’t required through regular loans,” Rooney said. “Mostly, it would be the ‘Made in America’ requirements, which we were already meeting because we thought we were going through ARRA funds.” According to Rooney, the borough may have to reapply for a loan because of the new funding sources. WMC board president Woody Wilson then asked Rooney what the next step in the project would be. “The next step is to find out whether we have to go through either a reapplication process or a new application,” Rooney said. “When we know, we’ll initiate it. All of the contracts have been issued for the construction of the facility and once we finalize funding we move forward.” With the new board in place, and the USDA prepared to come back online with funding mechanisms for the project, the borough has restarted biweekly project team meetings that include David E. Johnson Architects, Layton Construction, American Health Facilities Development, Sanderling, WMC staff, and staff from the city. “Currently the project team continues to identify areas of potential savings for the project,” Rooney’s report states. “I will be discussing these items with the Borough Assembly in the near future.” Biweekly updates are available on the borough website as part of the Borough Manager’s report on the Friday preceding regular assembly meetings.