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Hernando Today

Enrichment Center, Shelter Plans Get Sticker Shock

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By TONY MARRERO

Published: June 22, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - The project to build a new community center at Oak Hill Hospital that would double as a hurricane shelter is hitting the rough seas of a stormy economy.

The Oak Hill Enrichment Center's board of directors have learned that the prefabricated concrete structures planned for the construction of the 10,000-square-foot center adjacent to the hospital have gone up 50 percent and that there is a three-year backlog on the product.

The center plans called for 10 of the 1,000-square-foot structures at a cost of $100,000 a piece, said Nick Morana, chairman of the enrichment center's board of directors.

Because of the rising costs of concrete, the price has jumped to $150,000, Morana said.

That blows a hole in the shelter's budget, putting the price of the building at some $1.5 million, Morana said. The center board has $1.2 million to spend. The state has provided $600,000, Oak Hill Hospital has pledged $500,000, and the county is kicking in $100,000.

The enrichment center board included the size of the center in its request for funding from the state.

"I don't know whether we can keep that promise if the cost of those units goes up 50 percent," Morana said.

Morana said he hopes to talk to the vendor of the concrete buildings to negotiate a lower price "and get relief from this awful estimate."

The county commission several months ago discussed the possibility of providing some additional money to the project, but would have to tap its contingency fund, said George Zoettlein, director of the county's Office of Management and Budget.

The higher price could make an alternate site for the center more attractive.

Morana has had some discussions with Regent Properties about leasing space in an 89,000-square-foot retail and commercial development currently under construction on Spring Hill Drive just east of the Suncoast Parkway. Regent representatives told the board that the firm is early enough in the design phase of its project to accommodate a hardened building that could double as a hurricane shelter.

Morana said this week that such a move is still an option, though key details would have to be tackled, such as how the center would get out of a contract with Oak Hill and how the departure would affect the hospital's $500,000 pledge for the new facility.

The center was founded in 1984 to provide programs and services for the areas seniors. Offerings now range from rug-hooking classes to Alzheimer's support groups and most are open to all ages.

The non-profit, 501c3 corporation operates independently of the hospital in a building on its campus at 11375 Cortez Blvd. As part of a contract between the hospital and the center, Oak Hill covers the center's rent and electric and phone bills, which comes to about $13,000 each month. The center gets no public funding and raises its own money to cover costs of its programs, partially through membership fees.

The center has more than two years remaining on its contract with the hospital. The center board seeks to renew the pact with a 10-year extension, but the hospital has been reluctant to do that so far in advance of the contract's expiration date, Morana said.

Morana and Joe Mason, the Brooksville attorney representing the enrichment center board, have said that losing the hospital's contribution likely would not preclude the center board from going with Regent if the offer is right. As well, the state is not requiring the shelter to be built on the hospital campus as a condition to release its share of the money.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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