Town Hall Meeting Set To Discuss Scotland County Nursing Home District Bond Issue
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By Emily Bontrager
In December of 2021, the Scotland County Care Center was forced to close due to staffing shortages. These shortages were due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
The SCCC opened in 1970 and the Scotland County Nursing Home District Board of Directors has worked for the last two years to try to maintain and preserve the facility valued at $60,000,000.
The care center previously provided local jobs and a local care facility for residents in the community.
The Scotland County Nursing Home District Board of Directors has recently notified voters of a bond election to be held on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
Voters in Scotland County will be voting on the bond issue during the primary election, which if approved, would help repair, upgrade, and reopen the Scotland County Care Center in Memphis, MO.
The proposed ballot of the General Obligation Bonds would borrow $4,800,000 over a 20- year period.
If the General Obligation Bonds were approved by voters, there would be a required annual levy increase of 36 cents. The average homeowner would have a monthly increase of about $7.16 or about 24 cents a day.
A town hall meeting will be held on Monday, July 15 at the SCCC, to discuss the bond issue and the possible upgrades the facility may receive in the future.
Scotland County Care Center Board Chairman, Tara Shultz, encourages the public to come out before the town hall meeting to walk through the care facility at 4:30 p.m.
The town hall meeting will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the RCF wing of the nursing home. The SCCC is located at 434 East Sigler Avenue in Memphis, MO.
“Joey McLiney, who is our Municipal Bond Advisor, will be coming to talk with the community who have questions about how a bond works. More importantly, a General Obligation Bond, and to answer any questions people might have about the dynamics of that and the timing,” Shultz explained.
The nursing home, if reopened, would provide a Resident Care Facility and an Intermediate Care Facility in Scotland County. Reopening the facility would also bring back local healthcare jobs and provide a care facility for loved ones in the area. The Board also hopes to expand into more care options in the future, such as hospice care, memory care, palliative care, VA services, and other needs in the community. “Our elderly deserve a place to live in their own backyard again. Our employees deserve to have local jobs again. Our taxpayers deserve to have a facility they have been paying for since 1970 and as a whole, it completes the package for a healthcare campus. It ties in with the hospital and the hospital ties in with us. It is just the full meal deal,” Shultz said.
According to Shultz, if the bond passes, the next steps to opening the facility will depend on a few factors.
“It will depend on getting the contractors in line with the bids and the supplies to come in to start working on those renovations. After that, it is up to Jefferson City on granting us our Certificate of Need, that we are meeting all of the qualifications that they have discussed,” Shultz explained.
Shultz encourages the public to come out to the town hall meeting on Monday, July 15, to discuss the bond and to see why it is important to preserve the Scotland County Care Center. The Board of Directors also encourages voters to get out and vote at the August primary election
