Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Committee reviews veterans' home capital needs and pencils in up to $7.5 million for sewer work pending check-in
Loading...
Summary
The House Corrections and Institutions Committee examined multiple capital projects at the state veterans' home, noting an estimated $7.5 million sewer replacement request (the governor recommended $500,000) and asking staff to schedule a check-in with facility officials before final appropriations.
The House Corrections and Institutions Committee on Wednesday reviewed capital projects at the state veterans' home and agreed to provisionally reserve cash to address an emergency sewer replacement, the committee chair said.
The chair of the committee said the panel would "start with the vets home" and asked staff for updated accounting of resident furnishings, maintenance and larger capital needs. Staff reported a $133,000 balance set aside for resident wardrobes, of which $96,000 had already been spent, and flagged outstanding work on boiler and elevator upgrades, a new laundry room and air-handling replacements. "They submitted a grant application last year that was denied. They're in the process of resubmitting that request," a staff member said.
Staff told members the facility has asked for an emergency sewer-pipe replacement under B and C wings with an estimated cost of about $7.5 million; the governor's recommendation included $500,000 in cash. "I say we give them everything here that's on here," a committee member said in support of funding the sewer work, noting the project's immediate public-health implications.
Members discussed other capital items: an emergency generator (the facility is weighing a whole-house generator option at similar cost), elevator upgrades and previously appropriated design funding for a new memory-care A wing. Committee staff reviewed last year’s capital-bill language that allowed money to be reallocated among projects and noted some of those funds remain unspent.
Rather than issuing a final allocation at the meeting, members agreed to "pencil in" additional cash for the sewer project and requested a formal check-in with facility leadership to update project estimates, clarify what work would be federally managed if a VA grant is approved, and confirm the status of wardrobes, laundry and elevator procurement. The committee did not take a formal vote at this meeting; members instructed staff to schedule the follow-up briefing before finalizing appropriations.
Next steps: staff will arrange a check-in with veterans' home officials to provide updated cost estimates, grant status and timelines; appropriations will be revisited after that briefing.
