BOCC counters offer, discusses potential options for property

WALLACE — The Shoshone Board of County Commissioners met with Shoshone Medical Center CEO Jerry Brantz for the second time this month regarding the potential acquisition of county-owned lands just west of SMC’s Wellness Center in Smelterville.

Earlier this fall, the county received SMC’s offer of $118,000 for the 4.5 acres directly adjacent to their facility, but they are looking for roughly $140,000 to make the sale.

The sale would truly be a win-win scenario for both parties involved as SMC is looking to continue the growth of their facilities and add more services to the growing list they already have, and for the county it would give them funding to develop the other 10.5 acres it owns in the area and turn it into a ready-to-build, commercial park.

Developing the land with paved road access, as well as having utilities ready to go at potentially multiple lots would make selling them much easier than what SMC is looking to do, which is why the BOCC is working with SMC to get the mutually beneficial deal done.

“It is much easier to attract businesses and companies when everything is in the ground,” said Mike Fitzgerald, BOCC chairman. “People would rather pay a little more than have to deal with the headache of getting all of that initial stuff taken care of.”

One of the biggest points of discussion was the current location of a sewer pipe that runs across the property near a currently used gravel access road — which runs adjacent to the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes — as well as the entirety of the county-owned property.

Also discussed was the status of the aforementioned access road.

The gravel road could be developed and used as an alleyway, or could remain a gravel road for utility access.

At this point, the discussions seemed to lean toward possibly relocating the sewer pipe prior to the would-be extension of Commerce Drive, which reportedly would be extended westward along the highway and end in a cul-de-sac at the end of the property.

Brantz’s plan was to take the county’s counter offer back to the hospital board to see what their thoughts were and then return to the BOCC.

In the initial meeting in early October, Brantz ran through many of the services and programs that Shoshone Medical Center currently offers and highlighted the need for them to have space to grow.

“We’re out of space, we are literally out of space inside the hospital,” Brantz said during that first meeting. “Our education room is 100 square feet that can house four people. We have nowhere to put anything new.”

The county currently owns 15 acres of land between the Shoshone Medical Wellness Center and the sewage treatment ponds.

No decisions were made official, but the BOCC and Brantz, along with members of the SMC Board will continue to meet over the following weeks and months until an agreement is reached.