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A Special Patient |
$20,000 or more was donated by each of the following local corporations, for a total of $250,000: Western Montana Tractor Co., Hoerner Waldorf Co., Intermountain Lumber, Van Evans, Burlington Northern Railway, Montana Power, Mountain Bell Telephone Co., Western Montana National Bank, First National Bank and the Missoulian.
A bonding agreement with Boetcher and Co. ofDenver was signed in 1970, but the entire project soon was threatened. To obtain tax-exempt status of revenue bonds for financial contributors, the Board of Trustees had to include the three MissoulaCountycommissioners, who also had to be given veto power over board decisions. Because the commissioners awarded public-health contracts to the three Missoula hospitals, attorneys for St. Patrick and Missoula General thought the commissioners' relationship with the new hospital could constitute a conflict of interest, and a lawsuit was threatened.
The commissioners agreed to provide an accounting of the public funds, but threats of a suit persisted. Ten Missoula labor officials, representing about 5,000 persons, met with the St. Patrick trustees and their attorney to express their concern about a legal action. The labor representatives discussed the need for a new hospital and how its construction would spur employment in the Missoula area. Consequently, the suit no longer was threatened by August 1970.
The contract was awarded to Skyline Construction Co. of Salt Lake City. The architect was Cushing and Terrill of Billings.
