Plan Commission Approves Site Plan for Hospital Building

The Effingham City Plan Commission Tuesday approved a site plan for an ambulatory care center to be operated by HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital of Effingham.

The structure will be located along Temple Avenue and will be connected to the existing Effingham Medical Center. The building will allow the hospital to locate several services now housed in other buildings in the vicinity of the hospital into one facility. Some outpatient services now located in the hospital will also be relocated to the new building to concentrate the services in one location.

The Commission approved the site plan with a couple of stipulations. One involves how the land involved is zoned. Currently, the building would stand in two different zones. The developer will have to rezone one or the other portion of the parcel. The other item involved installing fire hydrants on city right of way to serve the building. Fire Chief Joe Holomy said, otherwise, hydrants on private property would have to be used and the City has no way to monitor those hydrants.

The hospital hopes to have the facility completed in June 2016 at a cost of $14 million.

The Commission agreed to recommend the City Council rezone a lot at 707 South Cherry Street from single-family residential to multiple dwelling district. Kevin Koester wants to purchase the lot from Gary and Meg Goeckner and build a four-unit apartment building on the site. There were no objections to the proposal.

Commission members also agreed to recommend the City Council rezone property just west of 15421 East Highway 33 and along the south side of the highway from non-urban to light industrial district. Brian Hayes said Sanitation Services Landfill 33 plans to construct a warehouse building on the site as its cardboard storage facility. Hayes said it will allow the current warehouse to be torn down to make way for additional landfill space.

Two residents of the area, Dan Borries and Rick Stumeier, wondered whether traffic would increase in the area of the new building. Hayes said it wouldn't increase greatly and said any semi traffic to the building would involve one truck every two weeks.

Hayes, who is a Plan Commission member, abstained from any deliberation or vote on the item.

Dave Storm, who is Finance Director for the hospital and a Plan Commission member, abstained from any discussion or vote on the hospital's site plan request.

Tuesday's meeting was the final meeting for Commissioners Jeff Bloemker and Kurt Buehnerkemper. Bloemker will be leaving the Commission when he becomes mayor in May, while Buehnerkemper, who was able to attend his first meeting since being injured in a crash when his motor scooter was struck by a vehicle in November, is retiring from the Commission, saying, "It's time for new blood."