Franklin County Commissioners have agreed to negotiate with an architectural firm out of Sarasota to draw up the plans for a new hospital in Apalachicola.
The board agreed to begin discussions the TRO Jung Brannon firm to help with the initial planning of the hospital and with a USDA grant application.
The company was one of 7 companies which offered its services for the project.
Hospital advisory board president Paul Marxsen said the firm has a good reputation.
He added that it is a large firm with numerous offices around the country; it also has a long history of hospital design.
Having an architect under contract is the first step the county has to take to get federal funding for the construction project.
They are currently seeking a 14 million dollar loan from the USDA to fund the construction – they have already learned that the county is eligible for the money.
County commissioners, however, did have some concerns about how the architects will be paid.
If everything goes as planned the company will be paid through the USDA loan, but that does leave some room for worry.
The county has been told it is eligible for the loan, but it has not yet been officially approved for the money, and that means if the loan falls through the county will have to pay the architects for any work they do.
That could get very expensive and as commissioners pointed out – they don’t have very much extra money in the budget.
The board did agree to begin negotiations with the firm on the condition that the County Attorney try to set a maximum price so the county doesn’t get locked into contract it can’t afford to pay.
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