Commerce committee discusses donating land for new SEARHC facility
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TweetThe Haines Borough Assembly is considering donating land to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) in exchange for construction of a new medical facility in town.
The assembly’s Commerce Committee began preliminary discussion of the proposal, originally brought forward by member Caitie Kirby, at a meeting Tuesday night.
“This is really a key thing for Haines. We’re seeing how traveling is getting more and more and more difficult… but we still have a need that’s growing,” committee chair Gabe Thomas said.
Haines is at the top of SEARHC’s list of communities in need of a new facility, according to Chilkoot Indian Association tribal administrator Harriet Brouillette.
“The only issue is the lack of land. The successful communities were communities who were able to offer up property to SEARHC,” Brouillette said. “It would be in our best interest to find a good spot.”
She said SEARHC president Chuck Clement is planning to visit Haines later this spring to look at available land. Brouillette said she wasn’t sure how much land SEARHC would need for a new facility, and said she would ask Clement at a meeting later this week.
In 2018, Wrangell voters approved the transfer of land to SEARHC in exchange for the construction of a new, 44,500 square foot healthcare facility next to the old Wrangell clinic. Up until the agreement was finalized, the City and Borough of Wrangell had operated the medical facility. The agreement put SEARHC in charge of providing medical services for the community.
Brouillette said if there isn’t adequate government land available in a desirable location in Haines, it’s possible an individual might be willing to donate or sell land at a greatly reduced cost for the purpose of building a new medical facility.
Assembly members at Tuesday’s meeting said it might be worth conducting a communitywide survey to see what kind of features people want in a new medical facility, listing a long-term care facility as an example.
