The St. Landry Parish Council tabled resolutions that would have asked the Acadiana Planning Commission to seek funding for Moosa Memorial Hospital.
Coby Clavier, a Parish Council member from Eunice, asked that the action be tabled after it encountered opposition at the Wednesday meeting.
Council Chairman Jerry Red said, “We are going to let them take care of that matter themselves.”
Clavier replied, “Hold on, let’s discuss that.”
Coby said it is his understanding the parish is responsible for the property.
But Port Barre area Council member Harold Taylor had another idea about who is responsible for the hospital that has been vacant for about 13 years.
“Moosa Memorial has an active board and they actually are in charge of that hospital. They actually got a raise here last year, if you might recall, and it would be their efforts to see that they can seek grant money to do what they have to do,” Taylor said.
In the 2017 Regular Session, Rep. Phillip DeVillier obtain approval for a bill increasing the hospital board pay from $25 to a maximum of $40 per meeting to a $40 minimum and $100 maximum for up to 12 meetings a year.
Taking action could shift the burden of responsibility to the Parish Council, he said.
Opelousas area Council member Wayne Ardoin joined in and said the hospital board has funds.
If you remember they gave some scholarships. They have some funds,” he said.
The action to table came despite the Council’s legal advisor Garett Duplechain saying he had prepared two resolutions requesting the Acadiana Planning Commission obtain funding for either demolition or removal of asbestos and renovation.
Clavier won a vote to table the issue so it can be discussed in November meetings.
Parish President Bill Fontenot, who is chairman of the Acadiana Planning Commission, said on Thursday he submit the resolutions on his own authority to the Commission.
The facility on Moosa Boulevard is in St. Landry Parish Hospital District 1.
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.
A 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.
While the Parish Council balked at acting on the Eunice hospital, it did approve the sale of the vacant St. Luke Hospital in Arnaudville for $184,000.
The hospital recently was appraised for $184,000 and Duplechain bids were not necessary.
The hospital is being sold to Saint Luc French Immersion and Cultural Campus.
The Council is asking the attorney general for an opinion on using some of the proceeds of the sale to repay its general fund about $105,000 that has been used for attorney fees and maintenance.
The Arnaudville hospital had an appraised value of about $300,000 several years ago.
The hospital district’s assets were split between St. Landry and St. Martin parishes, but St. Martin Parish took an additional $300,000 in cash instead of the hospital.
Ardoin said, “They are laughing all the way to the bank. They got their money on an appraisal of $300,000.”
St. Landry Parish is getting about $450,000, but that money must be used in the former hospital district.
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.
The Arnaudville hospital has been closed seven years.
Mavis Fruge, presdent of the immersion group, said the sale approved Wednesday night marked the end of a 12-year process.
Fruge is unsure how long it will take to renovate the property for use in the French immersion program that’s been in operation for six years.
