REGIONAL – At a special meeting on Tuesday, St. Louis County School Board members approved a five-year lease agreement with Scenic Rivers Health Services to rent space at the Tower-Soudan Elementary School for a new community health clinic.

Board members in attendance at the special meeting unanimously approved the lease. Chairman Bob Larson added that Zelda Bruns, who was unable to be at Tuesday’s meeting, also voiced her support for the clinic.

Scenic Rivers will lease approximately 4,660 square feet on the first floor of the west wing of the school.

Under the terms of the lease, which takes effect on Oct. 15, Scenic Rivers will pay the district $30,290 (or $6.50 per square foot) in annual rent. Rent will be payable in monthly installments of $2,524. Annual rent can be renegotiated on a yearly basis.

Scenic Rivers is responsible for insurance on any of its own equipment, inventory and supplies. The district’s insurance on the building will cover the structure itself. In addition, Scenic Rivers is responsible for its own security, janitorial and other custodial services for the wing of the building it leases.

The new clinic, funded in part through the federal Affordable Care Act, would be housed in the 1935 wing of the school, which is no longer used as student space. The school was one of three locations in Tower looked at by the health service’s architect. Given the short timeline for clinic construction, the school emerged as the best choice. Under the grant’s rules, the facility must be up and operational within 120 days.

The $650,000 federal grant received by Scenic Rivers will pay for equipment purchases and staffing, but clinic officials have to find funding to help cover the cost of any necessary renovations. The clinic is working with the Tower Economic Develop-ment Authority to obtain funds.

Scenic Rivers Admin-istrator Mike Holmes said, with the lease finalized, it should be easier to seek funding. “Part of the issue has been how much money to seek,” he said. “Once we get the lease finalized and some other pieces completed, we can better discuss funding for renovations.”

Scenic Rivers is exploring a number of sources for funding, he said. Although the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board is reluctant to provide a grant for the project, the agency is open to offering a low-interest loan.

Holmes hasn’t given up on the possibility of getting a grant from IRRRB and said the economic development agency was interested in the jobs that would be created at the clinic. “Once we’re fully operating, we expect to add between 19 and 20 jobs,” he said. Although Scenic Rivers is waiting for the construction of the clinic before hiring, Holmes said they have had conversations with some nurse practioners and a dentist about working at the Tower location.