Centre Wellington residents were to hear on Wednesday night that the site of the new hospital is likely to be somewhere near Aboyne, and close to the new Wellington Terrace seniors’ home.
That meeting was held after the Wellington Advertiser deadline, but Chief Executive Officer Jerome Quenneville made the announcement in an interview on Monday morning.
He said the Dec. 12 meeting was designed to give residents an update on the hospital board’s progress towards a new hospital.
There was a glitch in advertising that meeting in the Wellington Advertiser though, as it never did receive the announcement.
Quenneville said the board was placing posters around Centre Wellington, particularly in the post offices, to ensure that residents were aware of the meeting.
He said the board was also considering radio advertising, as well as running announcements on the local Cogeco cable TV channel.
Quenneville said, though, the final site is not yet selected.
“Right now, we’re narrowing it down to an area close to the Terrace,” he said.
He added that talks include not only Wellington County, which owns extensive property in the area, but also individual property owners in Aboyne.
The board will need a minimum of 30 acres, and Quenneville said the major criteria will include services such as sewer, water, communication capabilities, and also how flat the site is.
He said of the Aboyne area, “There is a good opportunity for us.” But, he added, “At this point, we’ve left our options open.”
Quenneville said that means the board will have to do soil tests and consult with engineers before making a final decision.
As well, he said, the board will consider such things as “other community services it makes sense to have in that area.”
He agreed that Aboyne is just outside the old Fergus boundary, about half way between that town and Elora.
“We’re kind of getting to that middle ground,” he said of the possible location.
Financial report
The board decided to build a new hospital because the current Groves building in Fergus is landlocked.
As well, the board said, it would cost $64-million to build a new hospital or to renovate the old one.
But on Monday, Quenneville said of the cost, “We’re looking at $71-million – that’s in today’s dollars.”
He said if it takes until 2012 to build the new hospital, the cost, at a 7% increase per year, will reach over $100-million.
Quenneville said going to the public is still working in the first step of the building process.
The province provided $500,000 for initial planning work on the new hospital.
Once a site is chosen, the board will consult with engineers and start considering what the building might look like, such as the design of rooms.
That could take a year, and that work would have to be approved by the province.
“If they accept that plan, we can go to approval and call tenders,” Quenneville said, adding, “We hope to get to the next state – planning rooms – sooner. All the detailed planning takes about a year. Then, we look for approval.”
Quenneville said the Aboyne Hall holds only 140 people, and said the board apologizes if anyone was not accommodated because the hall was too full.
He said anyone who could not attend but wants to see the board’s PowerPoint presentation, it will be on the hospital’s web site by Thursday morning.
Plus, he said, people will have an opportunity to comment at the meeting, through the web site, or directly, and the board is looking for support or suggestions.
