Council OKs permit for new hospital clinic

PRINCETON — The Princeton City Council has approved a special use permit for Perry Memorial Hospital’s proposed $4.5 million family health clinic.

The hospital will move forward with its construction plans, which begin next month. The new clinic will be located on two lots across the street from the hospital on Park Avenue East. The project is expected to be completed in January 2020.

The new facility will house between 12 and 15 full-time family care physicians and nurse practitioners.

At a Princeton Plan Commission meeting last week, Perry’s President and CEO Annette Schnabel said after reviewing studies with architects and engineers, it was determined there was no room for a primary care practices of this size inside the hospital.

“With the way the structure is, there isn’t room for this type of facility within the current building. All our current sites are in use. … We really, truly don’t have additional space,” she said.

During Monday’s council meeting, Princeton resident Geraldine Woodlief questioned the loss of parking spaces with a portion of the clinic being built on the parking lot on Park Avenue East.

Perry’s Vice President of Operations Scott Hartman, who was in attendance at Monday’s meeting, confirmed the hospital will not lose any parking.

He said the construction plans show only one row of parking being eliminated from the current lot. Additional parking will be added around the new clinic that will make up for the row being eliminated.

Amending the liquor code

The city council on Monday approved the first reading of an ordinance amending two liquor codes.

City Manager Rachel Skaggs said the changes were requested by business owners.

The first change allows establishments that serve alcohol to offer sidewalk seating.

The second change gives the OK for restaurants to serve alcohol earlier on the weekends. Any establishment with 50 percent or more of their gross receipts being food sales can begin serving alcohol as early as 6 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Other establishments cannot begin selling alcohol until 11 a.m. on weekends.

Mayor Joel Quiram pointed out that the law where alcohol cannot be purchased before 11 a.m. on Sunday will remain.

The council voted 3-1 on the amendments, with Hector Gomez being the lone “no” vote.

Gomez said he has concerns with sidewalk seating taking up room for handicapped people or families with small children and strollers.

Quiram said the ordinance does call for five feet of unrestricted space on the sidewalk when outdoor seating is provided, which would help address that issue.

In other news, the council:

• Approved the second and final reading of an ordinance authorizing the issuance of $400,000 in sewerage revenue bonds to help cover a portion of the upcoming sewer improvement project this summer. The $800,000 project involves rebuilding sewer lines between Central Avenue and Clark Street. The city was awarded a $500,000 community development block grant from the state last year to help cover a portion of the cost.

• Approved the second and final reading of an ordinance authorizing the issuance of $2.8 million in taxable general obligation refunding bonds for the purpose of refinancing outstanding obligations. Skaggs said refinancing these bonds is expected to save the city $80,000 over the life of the bond, which is associated with the Industrial Park, north of Interstate 80.

• Approved the second and final reading of an ordinance allowing an amendment to the purchasing agreement with Republic Services. The amendment gives Republic Services a 10-year extension to remove lime piles on the property of the city’s former transfer station. In return, Republic Services has agreed to remove sludge from the wastewater plant for the next 10 years, which will save the city $1.5 million.

• Approved the appointment of Matt Keutzer to the Princeton Plan Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals for a three-year-term ending on April 30, 2022.