Voters in the Sweet Springs Ambulance District will go to the polls to cast their ballots during the Municipal Election on Tuesday, April 6, on a measure put forth by the ambulance board.

A press release says I-70 Community Hospital in Sweet Springs was closed in February 2019 due to a failure of the owner/management company. The property has been unsuccessfully offered at auction twice and has been foreclosed on by the mortgagor, First Liberty Bank of Oklahoma City. Since the closing date, the surrounding communities have suffered the health and economic consequences of being without this vital resource.

Local ambulance and fire districts and other community leaders are working together in development of a plan to acquire and reopen the facility.

The Sweet Springs Ambulance District Board will take the lead on the first phase of the plan, which is to purchase the facility from the bank. The hospital was built in 2005 and clinic facilities were added in 2012, bringing the total development cost to $10 to $12 million. If approved by voters, the ambulance district will issue general-obligation bonds up to $2.5 million to purchase the property, equip it for ambulance service, and make necessary improvements to move the district headquarters to the location. The 20-year, two-percent-interest bond debt payment of $153,000 per year will be serviced by a $0.21 tax levy for Sweet Springs Ambulance District property owners. This equates to about $3.33 per month or $40 per year per $100,000 in residential property value.

Immediately following necessary improvements, the ambulance district intends to lease a portion of the facility to a rural health clinic and a physical therapy group. The estimated rental income from these sources is $110,000 per year. Lessees will pay for their own utilities and cleaning services. The operating room will be available for rent for dental surgeries, generating estimated rental income of $75,000 per year.

Also, immediately following successful acquisition of the property, a community group will be created to move forward with the necessary action to ask voters to form a hospital district. The anticipated scope of the new hospital district will be areas which will benefit most from having emergency and related health services at this location.

Currently, the geographic area under consideration is that of the Concordia and Alma Fire Protection Districts and the Sweet Springs Ambulance District. The assessed value for these combined areas in 2020 was about $165.8 million. A levy of $0.50 based on current valuation, plus a 0.5-percent increase will generate about $831,000 annually to operate the facility. This equates to about $7.92 a month or $95 per year per $100,000 in residential property value.

Residents from all surrounding communities are invited to a meeting to discuss the plan and give input at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 29, at the Blackburn Civic Center at 207 North Main Street.