Council backs new MRI building, establishes city hall task force 07/28/10

Story last updated at 6:15 PM on Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Council backs new MRI building, establishes city hall task force

By Michael Armstrong
Staff Writer

In other action Monday night, the Homer City Council advised the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly to move forward on constructing a building for a new magnetic resonance imaging machine for South Peninsula Hospital. The assembly earlier this month had postponed awarding a sole-source contract to allow construction of the hospital's new MRI facility.

"We have the MRI equipment fully funded and ready to be built. We have the construction crews and architects ready to build the building," South Peninsula Hospital CEO Robert Letson told the council. "We just cannot have any additional delays."

Borough Assembly Member Mako Haggerty has introduced a resolution to be considered at the assembly's Aug. 3 meeting that will allow a change order for the existing contractor to build the addition.

"I really encourage everybody here to vote for this resolution supporting this MRI," Haggerty said. "Everything is in place. All the ducks are lined up. All that needs to happen is we call it a change order."

In a 5-1 vote, with Council Member Kevin Hogan voting no, the council approved a resolution expressing its support for immediately proceeding with construction.

The council also established a City Hall Renovation Task Force, appointing staff members city clerk Jo Johnson, planning director Rick Abboud and finance director Regina Harville and council members Beth Wythe, Francie Roberts and Kevin Hogan. Hogan had made a motion to delete a staff member seat and add a seat for the general public, but that motion failed for a lack of a second.

In other action, the council:

n Introduced and passed for first reading an ordinance appropriating $9,900 to fund a 25-year anniversary celebration of the sister city relationship between Homer and Teshio, Japan;

n Introduced and passed for first reading an ordinance accepting a $6,123 assistance grant from the Alaska Police Standards Council for a Lifecycle exercise to be used by Homer Police Department officers and staff. APSC gets some of its funding from a portion of court surcharges paid by convicted defendants.

n Introduced and passed for first reading ordinances authorizing the purchase of property in the Bridge Creek watershed and appropriating money for demolition of the old water treatment plant building.

All the ordinances passed for first reading will have public hearings at the next council meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 9 and will face further consideration.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong.@homernews.com.

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