Editorials
March 22, 2008
The Charleston Gazette: Dispute
Health clinic move

EVERYONE agrees that it would be great for Charleston to gain another upscale hotel to boost the capital city's economy and convention business.

When the proposal surfaced last fall, leaders of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department expressed willingness to move their city-county clinic and headquarters to make a hotel site available.

But it's a shame that the matter has deteriorated into such hostility that Mayor Danny Jones is expelling the health board president and Charleston council has withheld half of the agency's city support.

Couldn't the hotel plan have been accomplished without so much rancor?

The saga began when Kelsey and Angela Harding, owners of Harding's Restaurant at Mink Shoals and two Sleep Inns, inquired about buying the health department site for a major hotel. They envisioned either a Hilton Garden Inn or a Hyatt Place, both attractive hostelries with modern electronic facilities.

Mayor Jones and County Commission President Kent Carper were delighted. Carper said it would bring $300,000 more annual tax revenue to the city and county. He said the city and county shouldn't sell the site for less than $3 million. Carper said he wanted a hasty move, not a "three- or four-year plan."

Dr. Steven Artz, head of the city-county Board of Health, said he'd welcome a move. "I like change," he commented. "This is a unique idea that will benefit the city." But he doubted that his agency could build a new home for $3 million. A sizable facility is needed, because the clinic serves thousands of patients and the agency's inspectors examine hundreds of restaurants, sewer systems and the like.

Health officials began searching new sites, and said they'd need more funds. They applied for an extra $3 million federal grant and sought help from Rep. Shelley Capito, R-W.Va.

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