CALEXICO — The Heffernan Memorial Healthcare District voted 3-2 to spend $280,000 on an office during its Wednesday night meeting.
The office space property is on a corner of Heber Avenue across from Calexico City Hall, and supporters of the decision said the location is ideal for raising the district’s visibility and offering its use for district community activities.
Heffernan board President Gloria Grijalva, board members Norma Apodaca and Rosie Fernandez voted for the purchase, to be made in cash, while board members Sylvia Bernal and Maria Camacho voted against.
In November, the board authorized for the request for proposal to be advertised, and only Casa Blanca Real Estate responded with an original offer of $300,000 for the Heber Avenue property, which was then negotiated to $280,000.
The district has been renting out an office space on West Hacienda Drive for about a $1,000 a month.
A heated discussion went on before the vote with proponents saying they also didn’t want to wait for the district’s Megapark project to come to fruition for them to have an office space and opponents stating that they didn’t feel it was an appropriate time to spend the money nor is there an immediate need for the office in lieu of staff.
The meeting was sparsely attended with no strong opinions from the public made on the issue.
Staff Writer Chelcey Adami can be reached at 760-337-3452 or cadami@ivpressonline.com
To comment on this story click here to be directed to Facebook.
