Jefferson County Commissioners announced at their Nov. 29 meeting they will no longer pursue the River building as a location for the Public Health Department expansion.
“The price on the building was not that bad, but the remodel estimate was a killer,” said Commissioner Leonard Wortman.
Commissioners have considered purchasing The River building since before owner and operator Greg Hughes shut his doors in September. The idea was floated around during public meetings. The Public Health Department has a growing need to expand and commissioners wanted to help, but before any decision was made commissioners Cory Kirsch, Leonard Wortman and Bob Mullen wanted an estimate for renovations. When it came back at more than $1.5 million, commissioners said during their Nov. 29 meeting they couldn’t justify moving forward. Public Health Director Pam Hanna also expressed concerns.
“I’m uneasy about the price tag,” she said. “It could accommodate our needs, but at what cost?”
Commissioner Mullen had an answer for that, and it wasn’t what Hanna or the other commissioners wanted to hear. Mullen said the building would essentially cost $75,000 a year in debt service, and the Public Health Department’s rent would be estimated at $3,000 a month, prices he considered too out of reach. The county would also pay for the other half of the building, an additional $3,000 a month.
So what now for the public health department?
At this time, Hanna told The Monitor the Public Health Department needs to put together a new vision for what expansion looks like. It’s critical, she said, for the department to have a safe, accessible, comfortable environment, but what that is exactly is undetermined at this time. Hanna has a few ideas, one being a medical modular building such as the one recently set up in Townsend. Hanna recommended she and the commissioners go take a look at it and learn more about what the experience was like for them.
“This would likely be the quickest option, as it wouldn’t require any renovation,” she said. “Currently we do not have a location designated for a medical modular. We are exploring the option and assessing its possibility.”
One of the biggest benefits for this alternative, Hanna said, is that the specific needs for medical facilities would already be addressed.
“I don’t think there’s any harm in looking,” she said.
Hanna’s other ideas for the Public Health Center’s expansion are far more ambitious. Ultimately, it’s her vision to have a wellness center on MDC’s South Campus.
“We could put public health in there as well as other entities, such as physical therapy, massage therapy and mental health counselors,” Hanna said. “It wouldn’t just be for physical health. We could even offer services for financial health.”
This is the grand dream, Hanna said, and she doesn’t know at this time what it will take, but she believes such a wellness center could do wonders for the community.
“I grew up in Boulder, and watching the buildings on the South Campus get abandoned has been something all of us have felt sadness over,” she said. “I want to restore them in a really purposeful way, just as Youth Dynamics is doing, but with a wellness mindset.”
Hanna admits she has no idea what such an undertaking would cost, but she wants to look into it, as the time is now.
“A lot of the funding available for public health is not forever funding,” Hanna said. “To take advantage, now is the time to move forward. I’m grateful to the commissioners for recognizing this and for seeing this expansion as a priority. I appreciate them taking the time and effort to listen to our needs and pursue these different options.”
These grants, according to Jefferson County Grant Facilitator Leah Lewis, appear to be harder to come by than anticipated.
“I’ve looked at various foundations and this and that, but it appears – for capital improvement projects – there just aren’t very good grants available to local governments,” Lewis said. “There’s been nothing substantial.”
Marijuana dispensary eyeing River building
Hanna and the county commissioners did not hide their disappointment about the deal not going through, an emotion shared by Hughes, who said he really wanted the county to get the building. Hughes said he doesn’t want to give up on the county, however, he does have another offer on the table, as interest for buying or leasing the building has been expressed by Jackee Beck of Top Shelf Botanicals, a marijuana dispensary that has more than 10 locations around the state.
Beck made an offer, Hughes said, and he countered. As of press time no offer had been accepted.
Beck visited with the Boulder City Council members Nov. 21 about the possibility of opening up shop. She said she has every intention of being a good neighbor, crossing all t’s and dotting all i’s. The meeting adjourned with her having to follow up with a cannabis control division inspector regarding the proximity of the shop’s proposed location – 102 W. Centennial – to the Boulder United Methodist Church, as Montana Code Annotated indicates a marijuana dispensary licensing decision could potentially be denied if the business is within 500 feet of a church. Beck followed up on this. She told the Monitor Dec. 6 she is still waiting for final approval and should know in the next week. Once approved by the city and state, the agreement rests solely between her and Hughes.
This is bittersweet for Hughes, as he was optimistic he could collaborate with the county. Although an offer is still on the table with Beck, if it doesn’t pan out Hughes doesn’t want the county to give up.
“Commissioners haven’t insinuated there’s still a chance for them to buy the building, but you never know,” he said.
Hughes said he has been flexible and has tried to think outside the box. He encourages county commissioners to do the same. Currently they have around $404,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds they could potentially use for the purchase, plus more than $440,000 from the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund, but they are short the cost for renovations, let alone maintenance.
Like Hughes, Kirsch doesn’t want to give up on the River building for the Public Health Department, either. Perhaps, he said, circumstances could lead to another opportunity.
“Maybe the River could come back up,” he said. “If the people interested in it now buy it, maybe it will cycle through.”
Wortman was less optimistic and did not shy away from sharing his disappointment – or his concern – regarding the potential buyer.
“The alternative for the space bothers me,” he said during the Nov. 29 meeting.
But dispensary or no dispensary, Hanna said the River building was never the end goal for the Public Health Department, and what comes now is a planning stage, one she wants to be transparent and all-inclusive.
“In January I’m hoping to do a community health assessment,” she said. “I think that will really help us see what the impact of COVID has been and what our residents are seeing as needs. This can also help provide data and information for what grants we should look at.”
