DARLINGTON — When the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors meet Oct. 21, it could be the death knell for the Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County building.

The recommendation from the county’s Executive, Rules, and Legislative Committee last Wednesday was to salvage what could be salvaged, and raze the structure, ending the facility’s 75 years of existence.

“I think that is what we should do,” Committee Chair Carmen McDonald told the committee when committee member Scott Pedley motioned to bring the recommendation to the county board, for the whole group to decide the building’s fate. 

“I’m not trying to shirk responsibility,” said Pedley, who believes the full board should be in on the decision.

This was the first meeting after EUA Consultants, who had worked with the county on the design of the new Lafayette Hospital and Clinic, made their presentation on the review of both the former hospital building and Lafayette Manor.

That presentation, made before some county board members, as well as county staff and press, recommended razing both structures, stating both would be cost prohibitive to continue use.

The presentation, made Sept. 23, did not give any cost estimates for rehabbing the structure, nor did it get alternative estimates for any new mixed use facility, only the recommendation the building was not worth saving.

One item several members of the board had hoped to get was the viability of using portions of the building for different uses, including for part of a new Lafayette Manor nursing home, as well as space for a childcare facility.

EUA only showed the site bulldozed, and filled with different housing solutions.

Courthouse Maintenance Supervisor Tony Wiegel, who has overseen the facility since the hospital moved to its new facility, presented the committee with monthly costs to keep the building running minimally.

Shutting down water heaters, unplugging errant appliances and televisions at the building seemed to lower the cost of utilities by $4,000, as the most recent monthly expenses were roughly $5,000.

Wiegel replied, when asked that if the county were to shut the building down, stopping the lone working boiler from heating the space, it would be difficult to bring the facility back.

Pedley wondered about the continued expense for the facility, including the utilities, but also items like mowing, and in the winter, snow clearing the sidewalks.

There is a communication system still in the building tied to the hospital operation and emergency services, but that is slated to be removed sometime in October.

Pedley, who was not at the presentation by EUA, wondered about one idea some of the board had — to utilize newer sections of the building. The hospital consists of the original 1950 section, as well as portion built in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

Wiegel noted that from the presentation, keeping some of the newer sections would be tough, due to how the controls for the heating and cooling systems, as well as how the electrical systems, were intertwined with the different sections of the building.

When asked about the salvageable parts, Wiegel felt there were some items that could be taken. 

For one, there was a sterilization boiler in the building that was only a half-decade old.

Wiegel had his eyes on the generator, much larger than the one currently at the courthouse. He noted that if the power goes out, that generator only covered the jail and dispatch, and most of the courthouse complex went dark.

He also stated there were faucets and some miscellaneous items to grab.

Most of the other items had nominal value.

In discussing the potential salvage, McDonald worried that the time someone would need to put into the project would not be available to most county staff.

The committee gave permission to Wiegel to start reallocating items from the building for use with other county departments.

Committee member Emmett Reilly brought up the idea of having an auction or sale at the building for any removal of items.

The group then approved the recommendation to the board, noting that if the public wished to see about ways to save the complex, the county board meeting would be the time to voice their opinion.

Larry Ludlum pointed to the Platteville Firehouse project, and how the community had a spirited debate on that project.

Until the board’s decision, the power and utilities would still run to the facility, as would it be retained on the county’s insurance policy, only being stricken when the decision to tear it down is made.