The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Carthage, Jasper County

Discussion

October 28, 2009

Carthage council approves deal for utility’s use of ex-hospital

By Susan Redden

sredden@joplinglobe.com

CARTHAGE, Mo. — The official hurdle was cleared Tuesday, but it will be about 18 months before the new owners will be prepared to move into the former McCune-Brooks Hospital Building at 627 Centennial Ave.

Members of the Carthage City Council on Tuesday night endorsed a memorandum of agreement governing the transfer of the city-owned building to the Carthage Water & Electric Plant.

The council and the CW&EP; board of directors approved the plan earlier, and at least $300,000 has been spent on repairing water damage and stabilizing the structure, according to Bob Williams, CW&EP; executive director.

“And the dollar; don’t forget that,” Williams said Wednesday, referring to the $1 conveyance fee for the building valued at nearly $15.7 million.

At Williams’ suggestion, the CW&EP; board agreed to look into taking over the former hospital after other organizations, including Missouri Southern State University and the state of Missouri, dropped plans to use parts of the structure. The building has been empty for nearly two years, since completion of the new McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital in south Carthage. Having stable occupancy for the big building in central Carthage always has been a city priority.

Work on stabilizing the building began after the concept was endorsed by the council and the CW&EP; board. Leaks in the emergency room roof had caused water damage to the newest part of the former hospital. Work to replace that roof was finished about two weeks ago, and maintenance is planned for other roofs, Williams said.

He said materials that had become wet have been removed, and the building was sprayed with a solution to kill mold. Some parts of the building’s exterior were tuck-pointed, and crews were brought in to stabilize the part of the building closest to Centennial Avenue.

“That former administration area had settled about an inch and a half, and they jacked it up and poured pillars under it,” Williams said.

He said architects and engineers are looking at the best use of the space in the 75,000-square-foot structure. He said CW&EP; expects to use “about one-third of that space, in a couple of stages” as a new administrative and customer service headquarters.

The rest will be available for lease, and Williams said he already has been contacted by people who are interested.

“We’ll be focusing on nonprofits and institutional-type, but we’re open to anything,” he said.

The three-story patient care area of the former hospital could be occupied quickly, if a tenant “wanted small rooms,” he said.

In other business Tuesday, the council:

-- Accepted a bid of $29,500 from Premiere Auto Sales to supply to the Police Department two used Dodge Chargers.

-- Accepted a grant of $1,000 from Wal-Mart to go toward the Christmas party for underprivileged children sponsored each year by the Carthage Police Department, and $1,914 from the Ruth Kolpin Foundation to go for dress hats for members of the Police Department.

-- Approved the appointment of Justin Baucom to the Carthage Library Board.

-- Approved standard specifications for sewer extensions and other projects in the city.



Lawsuit

The Carthage council authorized Mayor Jim Woestman to sign a declaration verifying that the city wants to proceed in the settlement of a lawsuit involving communities throughout the state against SBC Communications. The city’s share will be just over $188,000.

Text Only
Carthage, Jasper County
  • Jim-Spradling-obit.jpg Carthage attorney, reformer of revenue department, dies

    James R. Spradling, a Carthage attorney who was noted for his reform of the Missouri Department of Revenue in the 1970s, died at 5:50 a.m. Monday at McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital.

    August 9, 2010 1 Photo

  • Bondswoman charged with false imprisonment

    A bail bondswoman from Carthage is facing a charge of false imprisonment for allegedly attempting to put a man in jail without a judge’s order, then taking him home and handcuffing him to the banister of a staircase until a friend of the man paid her his bond money.

    January 4, 2012

  • Man’s last statement to be given to defendant

    A judge ruled Monday that the Jasper County prosecutor must provide attorneys for Darren J. Winans with a videotaped statement co-defendant Matthew D. Laurin made about the Sheldon murders shortly before killing himself.

    August 23, 2010

  • Carthage proposes 1.6-cent rise in city property tax

    A drop in the assessed value of Carthage real estate will translate to an increase of about 1.6 cents in the city’s proposed property tax rate.

    August 9, 2010

  • Open house to celebrate projects at courthouse

    Projects completed last year at the Jasper County Courthouse will be celebrated in ceremonies Thursday in the courthouse lobby.
    County officials will join representatives of local chambers of commerce and others for a ribbon-cutting and open house to mark the opening of a Route 66 display in the lobby and a new “peace star” atop the building.

    May 9, 2010

  • Newton County Jail State budget cuts reduce county funds

    County officials are bracing for more state budget cuts to translate into a loss of county revenues.
    In an effort to balance Missouri’s budget, the state earlier this year cut the amount it reimburses county assessors for work to determine property values. The budget approved by lawmakers for fiscal 2011 calls for cutting the amount the state reimburses counties to house prisoners bound for state lockup.

    May 9, 2010 1 Photo

  • Jo Ellis: County home to rare yellowwood tree

    In late spring, drifts as white as snow fill the gutters and curbs on the east side of the Jasper County Courthouse. It isn’t snow, of course; it’s the fallen petals of the yellowwood tree that grows squarely in front of the door to the Jasper County Extension office.

    May 9, 2010

  • Jasper County Commission gets building project update

    Plans to close out one building project and start another were reviewed by the Jasper County Commission last week.
    Darieus Adams, Western District associate commissioner, met Thursday with officials of the firm who designed a $292,400 project to upgrade the lighting and make other changes to make four county-owned buildings more energy efficient.

    May 8, 2010

  • Two men running for associate judge in 39th Circuit take case to court

    Two men running for associate judge in Missouri’s 39th Circuit began battling it out in a Jasper County courtroom this week.
    Jasper County Circuit Judge Gayle Crane heard arguments Wednesday concerning the disclosure of documents sought by Robert “Bobby” George, Aurora, the current Lawrence County prosecutor.

    May 7, 2010

  • Carthage tiger Unveiling ceremony celebrates CHS tiger

    Kandy Frazier, Carthage High School principal, summed it up once the new addition to the CHS campus was unveiled Thursday.
    The bronze tiger sculpture created by Carthage artist and sculptor Bob Tommey, she said, is the kind of work that would be found at a big university.

    May 6, 2010 1 Photo