Village board seeks answers about future of Rib Lake clinic
While many issues were discussed, Rib Lake is still left wondering whether Aspirus will reopen or permanently close its clinic in the village.
Russ Bullis gave a summary to the village board at its meeting on March 10 of the meeting he, Bill Schreiner and Dawn Quednow had earlier in the week with representatives of Aspirus Medford Clinics to discuss the Rib Lake Clinic. He said both parties agreed the issue of the clinic needs to be settled and that the issue of whether to reopen or close the clinic is being taken very seriously by the Aspirus Medford Hospital board and has been moved to the top of its priority list. Bullis said there were many things that needed to be considered before a final decision is made. He said finding the right health care provider, support staff, bringing the building up to code and IT upgrades were all discussed at the meeting. Bullis said a lengthy discussion also took place on the many rumors in the community concerning the clinic, most of which he said were untrue. Bullis said at the meeting they presented Aspirus with a petition signed by 668 people in support of the clinic.
Bullis said they had gone into the meeting with the hope that a date for reopening the clinic would be set, but that Aspirus wasn’t ready to make a decision at this time.
Schreiner said he had contacted Marshfield Clinic and a phone meeting had been arranged for the next day [March 11] to ask if Marshfield Clinic would be interested in coming to Rib Lake if there is a future decision by Aspirus to close the clinic. Schreiner said he didn’t want to threaten Aspirus with Marshfield but that the village has to think of the residents and if there is any remote chance Aspirus will reopen the clinic, Marshfi eld “is out of the picture.”
Bullis re-emphasized that they had asked Aspirus about many of the rumors concerning the clinic and that the rumors were so far from the truth. One of the rumors is that all the equipment was removed from the clinic building. Bullis said that’s not true and all the equipment is still in place, with the exception of a few small items which will be brought back if the clinic reopens. He said they asked if the clinic is reopened, how soon could it begin seeing patients and were told it could begin seeing patients on the same day it reopens.
Bullis wrapped up by saying they discussed a lot of issues, but at this point Aspirus Medford Hospital doesn’t have a lot of answer to questions yet. He said as soon as the committee hears anything, they will let the public know.
The board approved reapplying for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for the McComb and Landall avenues storm sewer project. MSA Professional Services will update and resubmit the grant application at a cost not to exceed $3,000. The deadline for applying for the grant is May 13 and grant awards will be announced in August. If awarded, the grant would cover 67 percent of the cost in matching funds up to $1 million. Total cost of the project is estimated at $1.2 million.
The board also adopted an ordinance establishing fire protection charges. Bullis said many insurance companies are refusing to reimburse policy holders for the cost of fire calls unless the municipality has an ordinance establishing those charges. He presented three options to the board and said the police and fire committee was recommending option two. Option one has a base charge of $500 for a fire call plus $300 per hour for each additional hour. Option two has a base charge of $750 plus $300 for each additional hour. Option three has a base charge of $1,000 plus $500 for each additional hour not to exceed $2,500.
Trustee Rocky Jones noted that option three had a limit of $2,500 and asked if the committee had considered including that in option two. Bullis said they had thought about it but added it would have to be a “very large fire” for the charges to reach $2,500.
The board approved a bid of $4,435 from Jensen Chip & Seal Coating of Medford to sealcoat the pathway along Hwy 102. The only other bid the village received was from Lakes Asphalt Maintenance of Medford for $4,471.
The board also approved a request from clerk/treasurer Kristin Lueck to look into additional payment options for water and sewer bills, such as automatic bank withdrawals and payment by credit or debit cards. She said it’s a common question she has been getting and people have been coming into the office to pay their bill with a credit or debit card, which the village doesn’t accept.
Lueck said many municipalities are now using those methods of payment, which Rib Lake doesn’t, and wanted to know if the board thought she should look into those options. The board thought it was a good idea.
