TONASKET – The 2009 budget hearing was the focus of the Thursday, Oct. 30 hospital board meeting.
“This was a budget meeting so we had our public hearing on the budget, which was passed by a unanimous vote,” Warner Bartleson, North Valley Hospital administrator, said. “The budget provides for a consolidated revenue of $22,663,329.”
He added that this was up from the 2008 estimate of $20,463,430 and that the budget is about three-eighths of an inch thick.
“The capital equipment estimated budget is $829,922 for 2009 building changes and this has nothing to do with bond issue and building expense,” Bartleson said. “It’s for equipment and operating expense.”
John Boyd, support services manager, said the Whitcomb parking lot is on schedule to be completed before the Thanksgiving holiday.
“The manufacturer of the Redi-Block used for the parking lot retaining walls visited the construction site and stated that Ty Olson Construction had done a beautiful job of laying the block and discussed how they make the blocks and that there is a 100 year warranty on the blocks,” the draft minutes state.
“We will start excavation for the new building in March 2009,” Bartleson said. “We also announced that the city council agreed to be the lead sponsor for the community development block grant and the hearing will be on Nov. 12.”
The hospital board also approved the capital equipment requests for a sewer line relocation, a three ton air handler to provide cooling for the IS server room, four new air conditioning systems to replace the older window units on the south wall of the hospital, a telephone service relocation at the alley, the relocation of the existing air conditioning system condensers to the roof of the hospital in preparation for construction of the addition, a CT upgrade and an MRI site preparation on the west side of the hospital building.
“The hospital also approved approximately $85,000 in capital equipment and building remodeling expense in the existing building to prepare for new Cat Scan technology,” Bartleson said.
The next hospital board meeting is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.
