Steve Strickler approached hospital trustees Tuesday evening in the hopes that being a “good neighbor” will keep his dairy on the good side of hospital management.
Strickler said his father, the late Ivan Strickler, raised him on the belief that friendly relations can go a long ways in bridging differences between parties.
His worry is that the aromas that come from his 1,000 head of cattle just across the road of a proposed new hospital will one day provoke trustees to insist on odor controls. To prevent that chance, Strickler asked trustees to put in writing their assurances that no legal action will be taken against the dairy and the nature of its business.
Trustees were sympathetic to Strickler’s plight, but unwilling to formally commit.
“We can’t obligate future boards of trustees,” to such a request, said Harry Lee, chairman of the Allen County Hospital board of trustees.
Strickler said he was a fan of the new hospital and “elated when it was to be situated downtown. But, I’m not so elated now,” with the hospital sitting in the path of prevailing winds to the northeast of Strickler’s 160 acres. The new hospital will sit at the northwest corner of the intersection of Oregon Road and U.S. 169.
“I’d like some reassurance that if you build there, I’ll have nothing to worry about,” Strickler said.
Trustee Karen Gilpin said she and fellow trustees were aware of smells coming from the dairy.
“Going from the parking lot into the hospital may be a problem,” she said. “But once you’re in the hospital, the smell should be fine.”
Strickler said the smell from the 1,000 cattle “is there all the time,” and that the smell of their manure “is much stronger than human waste.”
Being required to cap the two open-air lagoons that treat the excrement from the cattle would be “prohibitive — at least $500,000,” Strickler said. He also feared having to defend his business in court, which would incur legal fees.
Strickler’s concern for the future of his business was evident.
“I’ve got 10 employees with families who depend on this dairy,” he said.
He also quickly dispelled rumors that his retirement was in sight.
“Since when does a farmer ever retire?” he asked. Strickler is 58. His father managed the dairy well into his 80s. He died at age 87 in 2008.
Trustee Patti Boyd wondered if a hospital has to be in a certain kind of environmental zone, including its air quality.
Alan Weber, legal counsel for the trustees, said Kansas laws are favorable to preexisting farms.
“The trend is to protect farms,” he said.
If a case were pursued against Strickler, Weber said he thought the law would land in his favor.
That did little to mollify the dairyman.
Lee said that construction of the hospital would likely increase the value of Strickler’s land, to which Strickler, visibly shaken, replied, “Mr. Lee, I don’t even want to go there.”
IN A PHONE conversation with Strickler this morning, he said his concerns were not only to have to defend his business legally, but also from public ridicule.
“Alan Weber’s argument that agricultural land is adequately protected by Kansas law does little to assure me that we won’t at the very least be the brunt of many ‘smelly’ jokes, and at the worst be forced to defend our 80-year-old business from an aggressive lawyer,” he said.
Positioned one-half mile from his dairy is the same as locating near “a feedlot, pig farm or packing plant,” Strickler said.
“When it comes to bad smells, personal opinion dictates whether it ‘smells like money’ or is repugnant, sickening and repulsive,” he said. “Any bad smell is not what you bargain for when you go to the hospital. They say they can control the smell inside the hospital, but I know of absolutely nothing that can abate odors on the outside other than not being located just one-half mile from a livestock facility.
“Why build at a location that you know from the get-go has problems that would give potential customers a reason not to patronize your business? Coming to a hospital — where the perception of clean is of the utmost importance — and having it smell like livestock will not give patients a good first impression of a sanitary facility.
“You only have one chance to make a first impression.
“I realize the trustees are in a hurry to build this hospital, but I’m not sure if they have a long-term vision of what it will mean to build a hospital across from my dairy.”
IN OTHER action, trustees were advised by architects and engineers to pursue purchase of land further on west to First Christian Church. The church sits at the intersection of Kentucky Street and Oregon Road and contains 10 acres.
Initial plans were to purchase 20 acres from Sally Huskey, Iola, for $5,000 an acre. Huskey owns the entire 120-acre plat, minus that sold to the church.
The hopes that a new nursing home for veterans will come to fruition farther west on Oregon road, has trustees eager to buy as much land as possible.
Huskey has said she is amenable to selling about 24 acres of her land for the hospital. Extending the parcel to the church would add another 10 acres, said Steve Lewallen, an architect with Health Facilities Group.
Survey of the land is the next step, particularly of the ground under the knoll that would provide a visible perch for the 60,000-square-foot facility.
Engineers would prefer 10-15 feet of soil at that particular point, said Phil Schultze, an engineer with Murray Construction. If the site yields less than three feet of soil atop bedrock, they likely would need to reposition the hospital, he said.
A geological survey will be required to take borings of the soil to determine what lies at various levels, Schultze said, which will cost in the neighborhood of $10,000 to $15,000.
Trustees agreed to pay “up to” $7,750 for engineers from Shafer, Kline, Warren to survey the site to determine its elevations and drainage aspects.
Schultze said another survey will be required to determine how utility services should be located.
Exactly who will provide utilities for the new hospital has yet to be determined, said Schultze. Meetings with the “lead players” are in the works, he said, to determine whether city or private firms can provide the hospital with the most efficient services.
NEGOTIATIONS with Hospital Corporation of America to serve in a management role continue, said Boyd. Trustees have a counter-proposal for 15 percent less than HCA offered, Boyd said. The numbers are confidential during the negotiating process.
Committee members expect to hear back from HCA this week, Boyd said.
Trustees meet each Tuesday evening at 7 o’clock in the basement meeting room of the hospital. The meetings are open to the public.
They also appreciate input from the community. Their e-mails are: Debbie Roe, debbie.roe@monarchcement.com; Harry Lee, harry.lee@laharpetel.com; Sean McReynolds, 2thfixr@sbcglobal.net; Patti Boyd, mikboy@vo-gent.net; Jay Kretzmeier, jay@kmspa.kscox-mail.com, Karen Gilpin, jkgil-pin@cox.net, and Tom Miller, tmiller23@cox.net.
