The Lincoln County Board approved a resolution to look for potential buyers for the Pine Crest Nursing Home in Merrill.
The vote was 14 to 8.
Earlier this year, a deal had been in place to sell Pine Crest, but that fell apart after a lawsuit from a county board member.
Now that lawsuit has been dropped, and the original buyer is showing interest in the property again.
After this week’s vote, the Lincoln County Board’s Legislative Committee can negotiate with anyone interested in buying the nursing home.
Some residents, like Eileen Gunthrie, expressed their frustration.
“The discussions in closed session centered around reintroducing the previous asset purchase agreement that was approved once. The effort, I believe, is short sighted and ill conceived,” said Gunthrie.
The resolution states the county doesn’t have the money to continue funding Pine Crest.
The board previously rejected holding a referendum to raise taxes to do that.
There’s no current offer on the table to buy Pine Crest.
This resolution simply allows the committee to find future offers, and start negotiations back up.
