Editor,

Reading some of the letters to the editor on the merits of the fundamental structure of Whidbey General Hospital, I would like to remind you that, three years ago, the voters approved a $50 million bond for the building of a new wing and other upgrades to the hospital.

All of the planning and engineering has been done and construction of this project is about to begin. Running the hospital while construction is underway will require full coordination between the commissioners, the administration and the staff of the hospital.

However, a lot of large projects seem to have unexpected problems requiring a lot of management attention, i.e. Bertha in Seattle, Oak Harbor’s Pioneer Way project.

A discussion on changes to the basis of Whidbey General would divert attention away from the two tasks at hand, time spent on these discussions would create uncertainty, and hasty decision making could easily result in a cost overrun.

My vote will be for “bean counter” Georgia Gardner to see this project through.

Everett Vanderwende

Coupeville