WORTHINGTON -- Nearly two months after the Worthington City Council approved the sale of Worthington Regional Hospital (WRH), the council will host a public forum Thursday on how to utilize the proceeds.
The meeting, during which no official action will be taken, is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theater of Minnesota West Community and Technical College, Worthington campus. The meeting also may be viewed live online at www.dglobe.com .
Worthington Mayor Alan Oberloh said Tuesday that while council members have been discussing various options on what to with the sale money, any suggestions from the community are welcome. All ideas -- whether they are submitted at Thursday's meeting or to the council via e-mail at councilmembers@ci.worthington.mn.us -- will be compiled and subsequently considered prior to final decisions.
"The council wants to make sure this money is in a secure enough position for future councils," Oberloh said.
Councilmen voted 4-1 Jan. 7 to approve the WRH sale to Sanford Health Network of Sioux Falls, S.D., ending what had been an often-emotional debate within the community on the hospital's future. The sale could bring as much as $30 million into the city's coffers, Oberloh said.
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"The way the charter is set up ... about $3 to $4 million of the hospital proceeds will go to the hospital foundation," Oberloh said. "The remainder of money will be unencumbered ... somewhere in that $21 to $30 million range."
With that type of money available, Oberloh acknowledges the possibilities -- he used fixing recurring flooding problems on a portion of 10th Street as an example -- may be brought before council.
"If a majority of people think, 'That's important enough where we should do something like that,' the council should be told that," Oberloh said. "If council is told they want enhancements to the parks ... or, it could be the event center, the community center.
"We just don't want to (spend money) on things that are one-time," Oberloh continued. "Ron Wood (councilman) has suggested we use it as an economic development tool where we could give out portions of the proceeds as loans that could be paid back, low-interest loans to existing businesses that would like to grow. That was one idea council was really looking at -- helping to grow local businesses to the next level."
Oberloh added that the council wants to have its plans in place prior to the sale's scheduled closing date of June 30.
