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County begins planning for morgue replacement as St. Luke’s facility will be decommissioned
Summary
Woodbury County staff told supervisors St. Luke’s will decommission the county morgue at year-end, and the board received a packet outlining interim and long-term options including funeral-home partnerships, leases or construction.
Woodbury County officials told the Board of Supervisors on March 3 that St. Luke’s will decommission the facility the county has used as its morgue at the end of the calendar year, and the county is planning for alternative arrangements.
Michelle, a county staff member presenting the medical-examiner packet, told the board the county previously budgeted $45,000 for investigations in fiscal 2025 but actual claims had risen to about $83,000. Staff proposed increased budget lines for contractual services (to contract with local funeral homes under possible 20/80 arrangements) and for rentals/building needs to cover short-term storage, office and refrigerated storage. The packet included a rental cushion number and an increase of approximately $175,000 in related medical-examiner budget lines to cover unknown costs while staff develops firm plans.
Staff identified options under consideration: 1) enter agreements with local funeral homes to store decedents and transport bodies to state-level autopsy facilities in Ankeny when required, 2) lease an existing building (staff reviewed a potential lease site that was later reported as intending to sell), or 3) build a small county facility on county-owned property (recommended as a last resort because of capital costs). The staff packet included a property example listed at $499,000, which the presenter said the county does not have available for a purchase.
Staff said the county recorded roughly 145 deaths in the prior year (presenter stated this figure as an estimate) and that the medical-examiner caseload variability makes forecasting difficult. Supervisor Benton Jr. moved to receive the medical-examiner packet; the motion was seconded by Supervisor Nelson and the board approved the receipt by voice vote. Staff said they will continue outreach to other counties about their contractual models and will return with cost estimates and recommendations.
The board stressed the preference—if feasible—of sending autopsies to the state facility in Des Moines and contracting locally for storage and transport, to avoid owning and maintaining a new county facility unless necessary. Staff will keep the board updated as cost information and lease options are developed.
