County needs 50 percent match for regional morgue
Marathon County supervisors are proceeding with plans to design a proposed regional morgue, even after finding out last week that the amount of potential state funding is much less than originally anticipated.
The county board unanimously approved a resolution at its May 23 meeting to continue setting aside $2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to help pay for the facility, which is estimated to cost a total of $14.8 million. Supervisors were previously told that the county had requested $10.6 million in state funding and another $2 million from the federal government.
However, at last week’s meeting, it was revealed that the state funding request went to the Wisconsin Building Commission, which requires a 50 percent match from applicants. This means the county will need to secure $7.4 million on its own to get $7.4 million from the state.
Supervisor Craig McEwen, chairman of the county’s regional morgue task force, said the county will have to find an additional $3.4 million to make up an anticipated funding shortfall. This assumes the county gets the $2 million it requested from the federal government and follows through with its own commitment of $2 million in ARPA money.
McEwen said the task force will likely seek financial and in-kind contributions from its various partners on the project, including local hospitals and Northcentral Technical College, which is willing to provide land for the facility. County officials will also be working with state legislators to explore other avenues of funding besides the building commission, he said.
“We need the opportunity to try,” he told the board.
The resolution adopted by the board extends the encumbrance of ARPA funds from July 31 to December 31, giving the county until the end of the year to come up with the total amount needed to build a facility that’s been in the planning stages since 2017. McEwen noted that the plan does not include any borrowing, so it’s up to the task force to raise all the money upfront.
“If, in December, we don’t come up with additional funding for it, we’re probably going to have to move in another direction,” McEwen said.
The resolution also increased the amount being allocated for designing the facility, from just over $178,000 to $219,368, based on a recent estimate from an architectural firm. That money will come from the $2 million ARPA allocation. Design work is expected to take five to six months, allowing the project to be bid out as early as December for construction next year. In addition to approving the resolution, the board also signed off on a onepage letter from board chairman Kurt Gibbs to members of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance, reiterating the county’s commitment to “making the project a reality.”
“Should fifty percent (50%) of the $14.8 million project funding be provided through the State of Wisconsin Building Commission, Marathon County will work diligently to secure the remaining funding and in-kind contributions necessary to complete the project,” Gibbs wrote.
If constructed, the regional forensic science center is expected to provide advanced autopsy services to as many as 28 other counties in northeastern Wisconsin and offer a learning space for medical students, law enforcement and emergency responders.
