Fergus Falls is receiving a new Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) that will be located in the old Sunmart Building at 1205 West Lincoln Avenue.
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs accepted Wayne Enterprise’s proposal for leasing the space in late September, 2023.
James Olson, the Otter Tail County Veteran Service Officer, is hopeful that the bigger space will allow for more access to needed services than is available in their current location in the Veterans’ Home,
“I’ve been encouraged by some of the conversations they’ve (the V.A.) had in terms of getting a specialist that will come to the clinic in Fergus Falls a couple of times a month. Obviously we can’t station a surgeon or a cardiologist Monday through Friday all month long, but even just a couple of touch points like that is helpful. For some of those veterans that maybe have a little more difficult time getting to the V.A. in Fargo, it saves them the effort of having to try and get up there.
While the V.A. approved the proposal, the new clinic and Wayne Enterprises have been faced with other issues.
The city of Fergus Falls requires a certain amount of parking spaces dedicated to clinics per the square footage of the facility, and the current parking that would be able to be dedicated on the site does not reach that quota.
At the Committee of the Whole meeting on January 10th, a request for an encroachment agreement was made to the committee.
This original agreement would have allowed for “head-on” parking spaces to be added in the right of way on Saint Andrews Street, on the East side of the building.
One of the biggest concerns the committee had with the agreement was the difficulty of getting in and out of the parking spots and getting back onto the road.
The committee decided to forward the decision to the City Council Meeting on January 16th.
At the meeting, there was a new parking layout design submitted with angled parking instead of ninety degree parking, however, some of the council members had new questions with the logistics of the parking.
Along with the concerns of the council members, one of the property owners adjacent to the building also had concerns in regards to future development on Saint Andrews, and that she and the other land owners in the area had not been notified of the encroachment.
After much discussion and debate, the council voted in favor of the agreement five to three.
Click here to watch the City Council Meeting.