County commission clears the way for ARRA bond money

From left, Northern District Commissioner Norvelle "Brownie" Brown, Southern District Commissioner Richard "Dick" Hassler, I-70 Community Hospital Administrator Ron Baker, Marshall-Saline Development Corporation Executive Director Roy Hunter and Presiding Commissioner Becky Plattner stand during the Saline County Commission meeting Wednesday, Aug. 26, after commissioners approved a resolution to designate Saline County as a recovery zone and to allocate $778,000 of the total funds available through this designation to I-70 Medical Center to replace the current clinic with a 6,000-square foot permanent building.
(Geoff Rands/Democrat-News)

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"Recovery Zone Bonds are to be issued with respect to or to finance certain expenditures located in or attributable to an area ... (that) has a significant level of ... poverty, unemployment, home foreclosures, or general distress," reads the resolution, number 2009-2.

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Saline County has been allocated Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds not to exceed $778,000 and Recovery Zone Facility Bonds not to exceed $1,167,000.

Marshall-Saline Development Corporation Executive Director Roy Hunter was present at the meeting, and said he believes many counties will not choose to designate any part of those counties as recovery zones by the Oct. 1 deadline.

Unused funds, he said, may be re-allocated at this time next year to counties that have already designated a recovery zone.

The first recipient of these funds is I-70 Community Hospital, located across Interstate 70 from Sweet Springs.

The hospital will receive $778,000 to replace the 1,400-square foot double-wide trailer that currently houses its clinic with a 6,000-square-foot permanent building, said Ron Baker, administrator of I-70 Community Hospital.

The commission also approved a commission order specifying who can and cannot enter into contractual agreements with Saline County.

Because the only person specified is the presiding commissioner of the Saline County Commission, only Presiding Commissioner Becky Plattner must disclose her finances.

The commission will meet again at 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, in the lower level of the courthouse.

Contact Geoff Rands at marshallreporter@socket.net