By Sara QuamWhen the current hospital is vacated this summer for the new site, it could present development opportunities for the city of Luverne.While City Administrator Greg La Fond is just speculating at this time, he said, "There are a number of players who could benefit, but how do you know until you try?"The City Council voted Tuesday to hire an architect to study the feasibility of turning the hospital half of the medical complex into a public use building, which would include a Luverne Fire Hall and City Hall. The Council approved spending $13,500.The new hospital and clinic on the north edge of town will be finished and ready for business this summer, opening the current buildings for development.Dingmann Funeral Home has committed to occupying the clinic, or Medical Center, portion of the current complex.The hospital side, with about 26,000 useable square feet, is unspoken for, however.LaFond has also invited Rock County to consider the concept of using additional space for a new sheriff’s office and other county operations such as Land Management or Extension Service.The existing Fire Hall might be a fit for Heartland Express, which is using office space in Family Services now.The new concept could also involve closing McKenzie Street in order to construct more space for the Fire Hall to the west.City Hall, with offices moved to the old hospital, would be empty and could serve as a Chamber of Commerce site and office space for new businesses.Council member Pat Baustian said, "It would be good to get the two bodies together to find the feasibility of it. You see joint public and safety buildings all over, and we could have that."Luverne Fire Chief Don Deutsch said, "I do like the idea of keeping the central location for the Fire Hall."This new idea will also affect Holy Trinity Episcopal Church’s plans to add on to the back of its property. Those plans are on hold until everything else is in line.Holy Trinity wants to add a new parish center, using a connecting link between it and the sanctuary and the lower-level spaces. For this project, the church was requesting 20 feet of property from the land to the south of the church.The city owns that land, which is also west of the current Fire Hall. If the church expands there, it limits use of the land for future Fire Hall expansion if the hospital ends up not being an option.County has already studied feasibility of using hospital for LECAt the same time as this new potential is coming to light, Rock County has just started the process of hiring its own architect, at $2,500, to research costs of remodeling the current Law Enforcement Center.Rock County Commissioners voted Tuesday to spend the initial assessment fee with Paulson Architects, Mankato.The county met with four firms last week for about an hour and one-half each.County Administrator Kyle Oldre said, "They understand the scope of our project, and they could see if they wanted to work with us on our issues."The issues are space, safe storage, and officer and dispatcher safety with no holding cells for prisoners.Speaking to the city’s invitation to join the potential hospital project, "We don’t want to close the door, but we’re not sure if we want to go to the extent that’s been thrown out here," Oldre said.Commissioners wondered whether they would be asked to be a part of the renovation in planning and costs or whether the county would lease space from the city after completion."And it wouldn’t address the building that we have here," Commissioner Richard Bakken said of the current Sheriff’s Office.Commissioner Ron Boyenga made a motion that the county stand by the initial architectural study done two years ago and have the county proceed with renovating the current location or research building new.That motion passed unanimously, but board members indicated they might be interested in the Fire Hall for Heartland Express if it becomes available.In 2003, Rock County had an architect study the feasibility of using the existing hospital for a Law Enforcement Center, Heartland Express, Mental Health Center, Extension Service, Land Management, Farm Service Agency and NRCS offices. That cost the county $11,000.At that time, Vetter Johnson Architects, Minneapolis, estimated that a remodeling project in 2005 would cost $3.8 million.The architects in 2003 pointed out the following problems: oair exchange units that will require more ductwork, oinadequate height for ductwork, recessed lights, wiring, etc., oa heating and cooling system on the roof’s exterior, and oload-bearing walls that minimize flexibility in arranging spaces.The current hospital was built in 1955, with renovations and remodeling in 1962, 1982 and 1990.