A Cariboo Chilcotin Hospital Regional District (CCHRD) decision not to allocate $46,800 toward the cost of a new long-term care bus for Deni House is being challenged by Williams Lake city councillor Ivan Bonnell.
At the regular council meeting Tuesday, Feb. 22, Bonnell will be asking council to send a letter to the CCHRDrequesting the decision be reconsidered.
Bonnell is the city’s director on the CCHRD and the Cariboo Regional District.
City council’s community services committee met on Feb. 10 to discuss the matter.
During the CCHRD board meeting Friday, Feb. 4, Director John Massier made a motion that the board vote against supporting the new bus, saying it was not the type of expense the board has approved in the past.
Chair Margo Wagner said it would be going down a slippery slope to approve the item.
“We have some extremely expensive projects coming up,” she said referring to the Cariboo Memorial Hospital (CMH) redevelopment, with an estimated project cost of $217.75 million.
The board voted not to approve the bus, separating it out from a list of capital funding requests for 2022/2023 from the Interior Health Authority.
Items on the list approved include a pharmacy upgrade at CMH. Amotor control centre upgrade for the fan units, a bathroom renovation for wheelchair accessibility and pharmacy upgrade at 100 Mile House District GeneralHospital.
At CMH the rooftop air cooled compressor is slated to be replaced. IH said the present one from the 1970s no longer provides adequate cooling to the maternity ward.
The CCHRD will also pay its share for an IH-wide digital health project, an additional medstation for CMH, as well as lab software and additional equipment for both the Williams Lake and 100 Mile House areas.
The CCHRD’s share would have been $1,113,020 for the list in its entirety, however, the CCHRD’s share of the bus - $46,800 would be deducted.
At the upcoming CCHRD board meeting on Friday, Feb. 25, the list will be submitted for board approval through a capital expenditure bylaw for consideration of three readings and adoption.
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