Several members of a split Poplar Bluff City Council say they are not ready to walk away from the purchase of Northwest Medical Center and that negotiations with the owners continue.
Council members were contacted Friday for a response to reports which detail a number of possible problems (see sidebar) in the proposed site of a new city complex.
Mayor pro tem Susan McVey and Ward 4 representative Philip Crocker were reluctant to discuss the reports, while Mayor Ed DeGaris, Robert Smith of Ward 5 and Barbara Horton of Ward 3 say these documents confirm their concerns about the purchase.
Council member at-large Ron Black would like more information from the owners of the property, while at-large member Steve Davis believes the building still has several strengths to support a purchase.
The city is set to close in February on the $3.495 million purchase of the Barron Road property. It would become home to city hall, the police department, city court and possibly Municipal Utilities administration and billing personnel.
A building inspection and appraisal released last week revealed a drainage problem which has flooded the basement in the past, a failing HVAC system and an aging roof.
"Right now, I feel like no councilman should say anything because we're still in contract negotiations," said Ward 4 representative Philip Crocker. "Right now is a little too early to ask us a question."
Council members should not do anything to jeopardize conversations with majority owners Focus Bank, according to Crocker.
"I don't even know if they are deficiencies or not, because we have to give them a list of deficiencies, just like when you buy a house," Crocker said. "This is ABCD that we see, will you fix it or not? It's up to them to say, 'yes, we will,' or 'no, we won't.'"
Crocker, McVey and Davis cited concerns that addressing the reports would reveal closed session discussions.
The Missouri open records law lists real estate as an item a public body is allowed to discuss in a closed session. Public bodies are not required to discuss real estate in closed session.
The building inspection and appraisal are public documents, which were released to the Daily American Republic last week following a Sunshine Law request.
"As for the assessment information, it was discussed in closed session therefore I have no comment to that or the next step," McVey said.
McVey and some other council members said they had not seen the appraisal by Rahlmann Valuation Services, which was dated Dec. 27.
The building inspection and assessment was done by Smith & Co. Engineers at the end of December and in early January.
"We have a very hard working, dedicated, capable council trying to make some positive progress for PB," McVey said in a text message following a request for comment. "It has been 4 years working on this city hall decision & we are still having council meetings & other city meetings at the old location many times without heat or working bathrooms!"
Smith believes the potential cost of renovations and repairs to the 26-year-old Northwest building continues to climb.
"It's just a bad deal for the city," he said. "If we're going to spend that much money on an old building, we might as well spend it on the old building we already have, or even build a new one for a lot less than that."
Estimates for renovations to Northwest are almost $5.6 million, according to a one-page June 2017 report from architects. The estimate was compiled before the recent list of deficiencies, and does not include any specific information concerning what the renovations would entail.
Smith, Horton and DeGaris have voted against the purchase of Northwest and supported a downtown location for city hall.
"Everyone knows I would like for city hall to remain downtown, but foremost in my thoughts is the council not put the taxpayers in any further debt," Horton said. "We need to recover from financial losses we have suffered before we begin spending millions of dollars. We also should be looking for ways to give our employees raises before we move into a building larger than we need."
The city should construct a building designed to meet its needs, not the needs of others, she said.
Problems with the HVAC system and other issues need to be considered, but Davis believes overall Northwest is a "good, solid building."
"There are still positive considerations with the building ... which are the structure, the square footage and it's in a good area with quite a bit of acreage," he said.
Both Davis and Black questioned figures in the appraisal which said the same building could be constructed for about $8.5 million. This would be less than the city's purchase and renovation estimates.
The building inspection has caused him to become concerned about the purchase, Black said.
"I think we have some hard decisions to make," he said. "I have been a strong proponent for the Northwest Medical Clinic as our city hall. I felt like it was a good use of our taxpayer dollars, however we are now learning of some deficiencies in the building which provide reason for me to reconsider and look at it again."
The next step is to look at the response from the owners, Black said.
The council also needs to think about the concerns citizens have had, said DeGaris.
"I think it (the reports) should make some of the others (council members) take a different look at it," he added. "I think it would be more expensive than a lot of people think to repair."