Condition of hospital to be studied

A recent motion to replace the leaking roof on the county owned hospital building was shelved at the May 4 meeting of the board of supervisors while the overall condition of the structure is assessed.

Supervisors first discussed replacing the roofing material on upper deck of the hospital that is thought was built in 1967. Supervisors discussed stripping off old roofing and replacing the roof with a plastic type material to stop leaks.

Simpson Stroupe, supervisor of construction and repair, said the seams and holes need to be checked to make sure they are sealed.

“It’s more than just a roof,” Stroupe said. “You are going to have to redo every ceiling and all steam pipe up to the third floor.”

State building codes prohibit putting a roofing layer on thee layers of old roofing, he said.

District 4 Supervisor George Zinn III asked if the old roofing has to be stripped off.

Stroupe said it will take a lot of work to strip the old layers off.

“If there is only one layer, they would have said put another layer on,” Stroupe said.

District 5 Supervisor Ronnie O’Neil Bennett said three layers of roofing adds a lot of weight to the roof.

Stroupe said the roofing was wet when a bore sample was taken. It appeared to be supported by a light. Layer of concrete, not foam.

“If it’s under that when you took the sample, it’s deteriorating,” Bennett said.

Stroupe said he is trying to get specifications of what type of roofing material to put back on after the old roof is removed.

“Are you certain it’s got to be taken off?” asked Zinn.

“We have to go with what the state says,” Stroupe said. “There are two layers now. You gotta go all way across the building, have a crane to put it on.”

Bennett asked if the county needs to get a company to come in and do a thorough check up on the structure. There could be mold and asbestos issues.

Bennett said if the county wants to keep the building, it should be given an overall assessment before “we spend a million dollars.”

“I guess the county needs to see if they want to keep the building, if we want to maintain and renovate it,” Zinn said.

Bennett said he just threw the suggestion out there.

“The tenant who has it had not maintained it,” he said.

Board attorney Amanda Whaley Smith said under a prior lease the tenant was required to maintain the building, but that old lease is up.

Zinn asked if the lease agreement was transferred.

Smith said the last lease was in the late 1990s.

“Or early 2000s,” Bennett said.

Zinn said the agreement was with the operator and the operator has changed hands several times.

“The tenants were to maintain the building and pay taxes on it,” Smith said.

“That tenant should be kicked out if not maintained,” Bennett said.

“There was a need,” said Zinn. “Sounds like it was a need.” “We need someone in to see what it’s going to cost to fix this building,” Bennett said. “The roof has been leaking a minute. A good minute. It is our building and we need to be frugal with our money and know what we need. My opinion.” Discussion ending, Bennett made a motion for Stroupe to seek an outside company to look over the pressing issues in the building.

“You want structural integrity,” Smith said.

“Tell us what we got. Mold issue or asbestos issue,” Bennett said. “We’ve got to make sure it’s safe to be a hospital.”

Zinn said the board needs to put a cap on how much to spend to get a private company to assess the building.

Rodgers seconded Bennett’s motion. The motion passed 4-1 with Zinn voting nay.

“It’s a county building. It’s got to be safe,” Bennett said.

The building was operated by Methodist Healthcare before selling it due to nonperformance and moving Methodist to Memphis, Tenn.

Dr. Kenneth Williams, who was working at the Byhalia Clinic in 1989, took over the facility and reopened it. The county-owned building was reopened by Dr. Kenneth Williams in November 1999.

Williams said Methodist brought him in during their operations to support the hospital. Now Williams has both the Certificate of Need and license to operate.

In other construction projects, Stroupe said the county is paying $7,750, one-third of the cost to bring electricity to Medic Station #1.

The board passed a motion to pay for the single phase line coming in to the station.

“We will also have to put water and sewer,” Stroupe said.

Stroupe read two quotes for replacing the flooring at the Waterford Community Center.

Inspired Flooring bid $7,377 and Quality Carpet bid $4,925.

The board approved the quote of Quality Carpet.

Stroupe said he has to wait until a community center is not rented out for a week before he can refurbish a community center. Some are rented as far out as a month.

Supervisors said the community centers are rented and in high demand.

Stroupe said the drain at the Chulahoma Community Center is in good condition and the commode is flushing fine.

Courthouse work

County Administrator Tim Powell said he has checked with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to see if there is grant money for historic preservation.

“They would definitely entertain funding a grant,”Powell said. “It (new grant applications) won’t go into effect until July 1.” Powell said an architect

would be required. The grant money would be to shore up the courthouse infrastructure so the floor can be leveled.

See the professional timeline for Dr. Kenneth Williams on Page 16.