Harlan Kirgan
Grant money will be sought through the Acadiana Planning Commission as an avenue to fund the demolition of the vacant and decaying Moosa Memorial Hospital.
The St. Landry Parish Council’s Adminstrative-Finance Committee voted to request the assistance at a meeting Wednesday in Opelousas.
Coby Clavier, a Parish Council member from Eunice, placed the issue on the committee’s agenda.
Clavier noted the Eunice Board of Aldermen approved a resolution for the parish to do something with building.
The building will continue to be an eyesore if money is not found, he said.
Clavier estimated up to $750,000 is need to demolish the building.
There is no possible use of the building in its current condition, which Clavier termed as “in very bad shape.”
Garett Duplechain, Parish Council lawyer, said the council created the hospital district and could “uncreate it.”
Clavier and Parish President Bill Fontenot said the building is “just about flat to the ground.”
“It would probably have to be totally demolished and removed,” Clavier said.
The committee members and parish president were not clear about an assets other than the building in St. Landry Hospital Service District 1.
Fontenot said he doesn’t think the hospital board wants to be dissolved, but is asking for assistance.
An annual audit of the hospital district, released in August, stated there were $82,335 in cash and cash equivalents on hand; $200,164 in investments on hand; and the land is valued at $151,788.
The audit also stated had revenues totaling $8,470 and disbursements of $5,899. the disbursements were $3,200 for scholarships and $2,699 for repairs and maintenance.
The district’s fund balance at the beginning of the year was $399,656 and the end balance was $402,227.
The resolution passed by Eunice aldermen in August stated the building is a safety hazard and asked St. Landry Parish Government remove the asbestos and demolish or secure the building.
The hospital was abandoned when the new facility, Acadian Medical Center, was opened on the east side of Eunice.
The committee also took action on the former St. Luke General Hospital in Arnaudville.
An opinion from the attorney general will be sought about the use of money generated if the facility is sold.
An audit valued the hospital at $184,000 and the parish legal counsel said the paperwork is ready for a sale.
The Arnaudville hospital had an appraised value of about $300,000 several years ago.
The Arnaudville hospital was constructed in 1965 on a 5-acre site. The hospital was last used by Doctors Hospital of Opelousas as a senior care facility that closed in 2012.
The appraisal said there is asbestos in the 26,277 square foot hospital and estimated remediation would cost at least $80,000.
“Competing properties all faced the same dilemma with environmental problems. Nationally, only about 50% of defunct hospitals ever sell,” the appraisal stated.
While the Arnaudville hospital has been closed seven years, the Eunice hospital has been closed about 13 years.