Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
City officials Tuesday approved entering into negotiations with ThedaCare over the Shawano Medical Center property that will be vacated later this year.
The Shawano Common Council came out of closed session discussions at its reorganizational meeting and voted to “authorize and direct the city attorney, mayor and city administrator to enter into negotiations with ThedaCare for development of the hospital site,” City Administrator Brian Knapp said.
Knapp said he could not give any further details of what those negotiations would center on because of the closed session discussion.
“There are points in our relationship that need to be discussed further,” he said.
Last week, the Shawano Plan Commission, Industrial and Commercial Development Committee and SMC-ThedaCare representatives met in closed session to hear pitches from two developers offering plans for the property, but that meeting ended without any recommendation.
Knapp said last week that the city was looking for more information from the potential developers before moving forward.
Now, however, it appears the decision will hinge on the city’s negotiations with ThedaCare.
“Those negotiations will determine which way we go,” Knapp said.
The council vote was nearly unanimous, except for one abstention from Alderperson Rhonda Strebel.
ThedaCare officials were not part of the closed session discussion.
SMC chief executive officer Dorothy Erdmann said the continued negotiations with the city are not out of the ordinary under the circumstances.
“We’re getting into the phase of specific details,” she said, noting both sides would be looking to their own best interests and ultimately what’s best for the community.
“This is a complex campus and we want to look at how we work together as we entertain potential developers,” Erdmann said.
Erdmann said she was comfortable with where SMC-ThedaCare and the city are in the process.
“We’re in a good place,” she said.
The hospital will relocate this fall to a new site adjacent to ThedaCare Physicians on County Road B.