Voters approving Samaritan Hospital construction bond
Samaritan Healthcare district voters are approving a $130 million construction bond proposal to replace Samaritan Hospital, pictured. The measure is passing with just less than 67% of ballots cast in favor of the measure which requires 60% approval to move forward.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
MOSES LAKE — A $130 million construction bond request to pay part of the cost of a new Samaritan Hospital is being approved by hospital district voters.
“On behalf of our board, the staff and all of us at Samaritan Healthcare, we are grateful for the incredible support from our community,” said Chief Executive Officer Theresa Sullivan in a statement Wednesday morning. “Thank you.”
In unofficial results from the special election Tuesday, the bond request received 4,776 yes votes and 2,359 no votes, or 66.94% of voters approving. Because it was a revenue measure, the bond requires approval from 60% of participating voters to pass.
The ballot count will be updated Thursday. Final election results will be certified May 5.
Property owners will pay an estimated $1.10 per $1,000 of assessed property value. A landowner with property assessed for $250,000 would pay $275 per year, and a landowner with property assessed at $300,000 would pay $330 per year. The bond has a 30-year payback provision. The $130 million bond approval does not necessarily mean that the entirety of that amount will be used and bonds will only be issued as needed, hospital staff have said.
The apparent passage means additional work will resume on the hospital project, which had stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic and was progressing slowly as the pandemic eased.
The project originally was approved by Samaritan commissioners in October 2018. Sullivan said in a December 2022 meeting that a financial analysis done during the early phases of the project showed Samaritan could pay for its share of the project without a bond.
A preliminary design was mostly finished by late 2019, and plans were being prepared for bid when the coronavirus pandemic stopped work on it in March 2020.
Like other hospitals statewide, Samaritan was required to defer some treatments and services like elective surgery during the pandemic, which cut into hospital revenue. At the same time hospital expenses rose sharply, said Chief Financial Officer Alex Town in December.
Construction costs rose at the same time. Joe Kunkel, a consultant working with the hospital on the project, estimated in January that the project cost will be about $225 million if construction starts later this year.
Samaritan commissioners rejected a construction bid in July 2022, saying that the hospital district didn’t have the money at the time to fund the project adequately. Commissioners voted to offer the construction bond in January.