Wellington County and Groves hospital have jointly purchased 105 acres of the 123-acre Trask farm adjacent to the county’s museum and seniors’ home.
That will provide 30 acres for a new hospital in Fergus.
Warden John Green said in an interview the current Fergus OPP detachment is nearing the end of its lifespan and he believes the new police building will someday be located on the purchased lands.
Green said the county paid $4.6-million for the land.
He said the hospital needs at least 30 acres, and “it will be part of our commitment to the hospital. Some years ago, the county promised to provide $5-million to Groves for its expansion, and later agreed to support for a new hospital.
He said the lands formerly farmed by Wilfred Trask are west of the old railroad tracks from Beatty Line to County Road 18, and they border to the west of the Wellington Terrace.
“Within a few years we will need a new police presence in Centre Wellington and that’s probably where it will be,” he said of a new detachment.
Green added, “There is the possibility of other things going on in the future.”
He explained there will be future needs for parking, and possibly for the Ministry of Agriculture, which is losing its rental accommodation at the museum building for an expanded county archives.
“OMAFRA made it quite clear they want a presence in the county,” he said, noting there are 23 employees at the museum now, and the ministry plans to maintain a staff anywhere from 13 to 33 in the future.
He added there is much negotiation to be done before that might happen.
Green said the county has built up reserves over the years for such things as this purchase, but he will have to talk to Treasurer Craig Dyer before council decides exactly how its commitment will be funded. He noted the county does have money in its property reserves.
Green said the Groves hospital board approached the county about a partnership about the time he became warden. He said there were negotiations taking place with the hospital before the final site area was selected.
At first the board was considering a site adjacent to the Wellington Terrace, but now it is looking at the other side of the museum.
Green said there is plenty of work to do, and Centre Wellington will have to be involved because it provides the services and its streets and traffic patterns will be affected.
Groves Chief Executive Officer Jerome Quenneville said he thinks the deal is terrific. He said Groves had an option on the Trask property for 105 acres, and now the county is buying the remainder, leaving Groves with what it needs.
“We’re going to work with the county to determine the best area” for a new hospital, he said. He noted the proposal also provides “an opportunity to bring some municipal services together. It’s a good time to get hold of the land and work that process.”
The Aboyne area gets water services from Elora, and some of the places there connect to the Fergus sewage treatment plant.
“It’s a really good and positive step,” Quenneville said of the plan.
He added that when the hospital board announced it would build a new hospital and the Trask property was considered the best site, the board received nothing but good feedback.
“We’ve had a very positive reception from a whole variety of people from across the community,” Quenneville said. The board has been visiting with service clubs and community groups to explain the plans and seek feedback.
“There’s been no negative feedback – which confirms that this is the right spot.”
He added that Centre Wellington is now “a big piece of our plan for the next stages.
That will include municipal sewer and water, roads, an access to the property and how to best make everything work for future planning “and what might happen on the rest of the property as well.”
The county and Groves will work with other partners including Centre Wellington and Emergency Service providers to determine the most appropriate location for the hospital on the site.
Considerations could include a helipad.
“This joint venture is another example of our valued partnership philosophy,” said Green. “It opens the door for even more collaborative quality improvement efforts by the county and its partners. There is a real opportunity for us to develop benchmarks for service delivery which will not only benefit patients, but will set a standard to be used as a model by other municipalities.”
County Chief Administrative Officer Scott Wilson said, “With both parties bringing experience and synergy into this new partnership, the County of Wellington and Groves Memorial Community Hospital will set a precedent for a campus model for the delivery of health care and related services. This joint venture is exciting, and the county looks forward to a developing a successful relationship with Groves.”
Chairman of the board of Groves Hospital Janet Vallery said, “By working in partnership with the County of Wellington, Groves Memorial Community Hospital will be able to deliver a modernized hospital in a centralized location, which will help provide the best possible care for residents in the Centre Wellington area.”
The process for determining the specific location of the hospital will be completed over the next several months.
