-September 9,2021-
The Kaweah Health board is finalizing a plan to build a new tower to replace the Mineral King wing followed in a few years by another tower.The first new tower, built next to the Acequia Tower would open in January 2030.The board appears ready to launch a formal campaign by October of this year to pass a general obligation bond in November 2022.
The bond would need two thirds voter approval.
The cost will be approximately $684 million dollars to fund hospital updates and new facilities. Proposed in two phases, funds would be $319 million for Phase I and $365 million for Phase II. Kaweah Health would work with banks and other institutions to borrow as much money as it can to fund this project. Assuming that Kaweah could borrow half of the money, the district would pay for $160 million and taxpayers would be asked to pay for $159 million for Phase I.
Then, a few years later, when Phase II starts, Kaweah would pay for an additional $183 million, and taxpayers would pay for the other $182 million. The total of the two bonds that taxpayers would be asked to repay would be approximately $342 million.
An average property owner would pay an additional tax of $35.55 per year for every $100,000 of assessed value (rates vary per year with the first year being $17.30 per $100,000 and the highest year being $67.70 per $100,000) for thirty years.
So, for a $400,000 house, the homeowner would pay approximately $142.20 per year. (This number is based on the average amount of $35.55 per $100,000 assessed value.)
The design of the tower would be molded after one on the UCLA campus that looks like a multi-story triangle. The phases would include the following:
Phase 1 : 9-floors(4 shelled),120 beds, Pharmacy, Dietary, Lobby, 500-car Parking Structure : Construction Start mid 2026 – Completion by January 2030. The Parking structure is planned spanning West to Willis.
The first tower (Phase I) will be built and operated for several years before the plan for building the second tower (Phase II) is started. This option gives Kaweah Health the flexibility as the community needs change. For example, they could build the second tower larger or smaller based on those needs.