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FORT SCOTT, KS - The Bourbon County Commission voted down a motion Monday night to set aside $300,000 in the 2027 budget for enforcement of the county's Donation Agreement covering the former hospital building, ending a 25-minute debate over whether the county should intervene in a dispute between the building's two private tenants, Freeman and KRI.
“According to state statute, eleventh in the list of duties of a Kansas County Commissioner is to contract for the protection and promotion of the public health and welfare,” Motley said, opening the discussion.
He said his efforts to enforce the Donation Agreement have been directed toward fulfilling that duty, and that the agreement’s “claw-back” provision gives the county the right to reclaim the hospital property if Freeman and KRI are not in compliance.
“If we have no right or responsibility to reclaim this private property, why did the previous commission include this claw-back provision?” he asked.
Motley moved to set aside $300,000 for enforcement of the Donation Agreement in the 2027 budget, saying the county’s outside attorney has been reviewing documents related to the agreement and that further review made little sense without assurance the county could fund a lawsuit if one were warranted.
He said he expected the motion to fail, and that without a second, he intended to instruct the attorney to stop billing the county and send a final invoice.
Commissioner David Beerbower questioned the timing before eventually seconding the motion.
“You’re just now asking for $300,000 to be added to the 2027 budget,” Beerbower said. “I kind of would like to look [it] over some more.”
Commissioner Mika Milburn-Kee said she opposed the request, tying it to her earlier vote against an initial $10,000 review of the agreement.
“None of us want to lose the hospital, but the reality of it is [it's] a gamble for $300,000,” she said. “I thought it was a gamble for $10,000. And now we’re upping the stakes to $300,000.”
Commission Chairman Samuel Tran raised similar concerns, saying the board lacked a clear plan.
“We’re being asked to sign a blank check for $300,000 with no clear avenue to progress,” Tran said.
He suggested the county instead press Freeman and KRI to negotiate directly rather than pursue litigation.
Motley rejected that approach, telling commissioners the dispute centers on deferred maintenance at the hospital building and on ten hospital beds the state will not approve for KRI, which he said leaves Freeman with a $1.44 million budget shortfall it cannot resolve through conversation.
He also argued the Donation Agreement’s claw-back provision binds any party that takes an interest in the property, including a mortgage holder.
“Everybody who touches that property is subject to that,” Motley said, adding that the county gave the two corporations more than $35 million in building value, direct funding and health sales tax revenue combined, making the $300,000 risk “pretty small” by comparison.
Commissioner Joe Allen said he supported keeping the hospital open but struggled to separate fact from rumor in the dispute.
“What the facts are right now is $300,000 for a maybe,” Allen said. “We don’t know. That’s where I’m at with it. There’s a lot of hearsay.”
Beerbower ultimately sided with Motley’s motion after Allen’s remarks, framing the money as insurance against losing the hospital’s emergency room.
“I’d rather approve it and not need it than need it and not have it,” he said, adding that Freeman “is bringing in equipment to expand” services at the building, including an incoming MRI machine, and that the county risked driving away future business and residents if the hospital closed.
Tran pressed Motley on the county’s overall budget picture, noting the proposed levy already runs above the revenue-neutral rate and that setting aside the funds would effectively commit two mills to the effort once bonding and related costs were considered.
“Show me that this is legit. That’s all I’m saying,” Tran said.
Following further exchange over whether the county’s attorney should continue billing hours without a funding commitment, Tran called for a vote.
The motion failed with the only two affirmative votes cast by Commissioner Motely and Beerbower.
Motley said he would contact the county’s attorney tomorrow [Tuesday] to halt further billing on the matter and request a final invoice, ending, for now, the county’s active review of enforcement options under the Donation Agreement, which is set to expire in November 2027.
