Fotbol
05-30-2007, 03:21 PM
New use, new jobs for old Marlin VA hospital
Click-2-Listen
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
By David Doerr
Tribune-Herald staff writer
MARLIN — A crowd of residents came out to hear the good news Tuesday about the future of the Thomas T. Connally Veterans Affairs Medical Center, an empty building representing a hole in the heart of this community of 6,600.
State Sen. Kip Averitt (left), R-McGregor, and U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, visit with Marlin residents Tuesday outside the vacant Marlin VA hospital. (David Doerr/Waco Tribune-Herald)
Thirty minutes before a press conference announcing that the building would soon become a prison hospital, an eager group of spectators had gathered near the steps of the 56-year-old building. And while they were excited about seeing the vacant building used again, many said they hoped it represented a turnaround in fortunes for Falls County, one of the poorest in Texas.
“Many of us grew up here in the 40s and 50s,” County Judge Tom Sehon said. “We remember how the VA used to be and what life it gave to Falls County. This has the potential to be even better . . . if that is possible. It has a chance to really help Falls County and provide the momentum to grow.”
State Sen. Kip Averitt, R-McGregor, announced Tuesday he had secured $10.3 million in the state budget for the first year of the prison hospital’s operation. The budget was approved by state lawmakers Sunday. Another $3.5 million in state funds will be used to convert the building into a prison facility, a process that could begin as soon as Sept. 1, he said.
“I’m extremely excited to be here today to announce we have found a proper tenant for this beautiful building and it is going to continue to go forward in the direction it was built for,” Averitt said. “It is going to be a significant part of this community again.”
‘Higher-income jobs’
Topping the list of positive effects the prison hospital will have on Marlin are the 140 medical and security jobs it will create, said Paula Kluck, who serves on the city council and is president of the Marlin Chamber of Commerce.
“They are higher-income jobs. Better than minimum wage,” she said. “That is key to economic impact.”
The facility will start off with 200 inpatient mental health treatment beds for female prisoners but has capacity to add about 150 more, Averitt said. It could soon grow to become a general purpose female prison hospital, encompassing other services such as a maternity ward, he said.
Marlin Mayor Norman Erskine said he was 10 years old when he watched workers pour the concrete to erect the six-story, 176,000-square-foot building. He said he hopes the building’s revitalization is just the beginning of good things to come to Marlin.
“It is going to be one tremendous boost for the community, economics-wise and otherwise,” he said.
U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, also played a role in the project.
Carter, who attended Tuesday’s announcement ceremony, worked to have legislation passed in Congress last week that will transfer ownership of the building to the city of Marlin for local use.
“We don’t have to tear things down to start over,” Carter said. “We have a hospital. We just need to do some renovation and then we are ready to roll, which means the jobs come quicker and the things that would be an offshoot of these jobs will come quicker. Hopefully, we will breath life into a really nice little community.”
Carter and Hutchison have secured funding for up to $500,000 in any possible environmental cleanup to prepare the facility to be handed off to the city.
But Averitt told the crowd the entire community deserved credit for finding a new use for the facility.
“Had you sat back and let it go to waste, it would have gone to waste” Averitt said. “I can assure you I heard and loud and clear from many of your leaders that this was a treasure that needed to be preserved.”
Click-2-Listen
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
By David Doerr
Tribune-Herald staff writer
MARLIN — A crowd of residents came out to hear the good news Tuesday about the future of the Thomas T. Connally Veterans Affairs Medical Center, an empty building representing a hole in the heart of this community of 6,600.
State Sen. Kip Averitt (left), R-McGregor, and U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, visit with Marlin residents Tuesday outside the vacant Marlin VA hospital. (David Doerr/Waco Tribune-Herald)
Thirty minutes before a press conference announcing that the building would soon become a prison hospital, an eager group of spectators had gathered near the steps of the 56-year-old building. And while they were excited about seeing the vacant building used again, many said they hoped it represented a turnaround in fortunes for Falls County, one of the poorest in Texas.
“Many of us grew up here in the 40s and 50s,” County Judge Tom Sehon said. “We remember how the VA used to be and what life it gave to Falls County. This has the potential to be even better . . . if that is possible. It has a chance to really help Falls County and provide the momentum to grow.”
State Sen. Kip Averitt, R-McGregor, announced Tuesday he had secured $10.3 million in the state budget for the first year of the prison hospital’s operation. The budget was approved by state lawmakers Sunday. Another $3.5 million in state funds will be used to convert the building into a prison facility, a process that could begin as soon as Sept. 1, he said.
“I’m extremely excited to be here today to announce we have found a proper tenant for this beautiful building and it is going to continue to go forward in the direction it was built for,” Averitt said. “It is going to be a significant part of this community again.”
‘Higher-income jobs’
Topping the list of positive effects the prison hospital will have on Marlin are the 140 medical and security jobs it will create, said Paula Kluck, who serves on the city council and is president of the Marlin Chamber of Commerce.
“They are higher-income jobs. Better than minimum wage,” she said. “That is key to economic impact.”
The facility will start off with 200 inpatient mental health treatment beds for female prisoners but has capacity to add about 150 more, Averitt said. It could soon grow to become a general purpose female prison hospital, encompassing other services such as a maternity ward, he said.
Marlin Mayor Norman Erskine said he was 10 years old when he watched workers pour the concrete to erect the six-story, 176,000-square-foot building. He said he hopes the building’s revitalization is just the beginning of good things to come to Marlin.
“It is going to be one tremendous boost for the community, economics-wise and otherwise,” he said.
U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, also played a role in the project.
Carter, who attended Tuesday’s announcement ceremony, worked to have legislation passed in Congress last week that will transfer ownership of the building to the city of Marlin for local use.
“We don’t have to tear things down to start over,” Carter said. “We have a hospital. We just need to do some renovation and then we are ready to roll, which means the jobs come quicker and the things that would be an offshoot of these jobs will come quicker. Hopefully, we will breath life into a really nice little community.”
Carter and Hutchison have secured funding for up to $500,000 in any possible environmental cleanup to prepare the facility to be handed off to the city.
But Averitt told the crowd the entire community deserved credit for finding a new use for the facility.
“Had you sat back and let it go to waste, it would have gone to waste” Averitt said. “I can assure you I heard and loud and clear from many of your leaders that this was a treasure that needed to be preserved.”