After years of rumors and speculation, the old Ellsworth County Hospital will be studied for asbestos and other contamination.

The effort, through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Brownfield Assessment program, comes at no cost to the city.

The possibility of a study was raised at an earlier Ellsworth City Council meeting by city attorney Patrick Hoffman.

At Monday night’s council meeting, Hoffman said he had been told the timing of the assessment might be good because the federal Environmental Protection Agency has money for remediation, if the assessment finds it necessary.

It probably would not cover the entire cost, however.

“The best case is for KDHE to confirm there are no environmental issues with the property, which would give the owner and the city clarity when making any future decisions about the site,” Hoffman said in an e-mail following Monday night’s meeting.

The city applied for the program’s “Phase I” in cooperation with the property’s out-of-state owner. The multi-story brick building has stood empty since the Ellsworth County Medical Center opened in 1999.

In other business:

• Josh Beckman of Kirkham Michael updated the council on construction projects, including improvements to Eighth Street, a few blocks to the west of Kansas Highway 156 at Great Plains Manufacturing. He said a temporary entrance will be created just east of the current gate for plant traffic. The alternative was Webb Street, which has residences and a pre school.

• Stacie Schmidt, executive director of Ellsworth County Economic Development, was approved as the city’s representative on the North Central Kansas Planning Commission, Beloit.

• The St. Louis firm of First Bankers’ Banc Securities purchased a general obligation bond issue the city plans to replace temporary notes issued in 2017. The company offered an interest rate of 1.6 percent over 20 years. The next lowest of six bids was 1.64 percent.

• The council also approved a recommendation from the bed tax committee for distribution of tax money collected from motel guests: $6,000 to the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce, $4,000 to the chamber for a city sign project, $2,000 to the Ellsworth County Historical Society, and $1,500 each to the Ellsworth Area Arts Council and the National Drovers Hall of Fame. Another $4,450 was held as carryover for next year.