Emily Wood & Associated Press
 
February 5, 2010
 
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- Klamath County commissioners plan to ask taxpayers to support a bond measure to bring a 250-bed, long-term care veterans facility to Klamath Falls.
 
Oregon's lone veterans home is in The Dalles, but the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs is looking for a place to build a second one.
 
Klamath County commissioners must have their application submitted by February 16th.
 
Under the VA's guidelines, applicants must come up with matching funds equaling 35 percent of the total project's cost of $80 million. That's $15 million, which would come from a bond which Klamath voters would have to pass in the May election.
 
The home would create an estimated 300 jobs for doctors, nurses and contractors.
 
County Commissioner Cheryl Hukill believes the county's 10-acre site is ideal because of its proximity to the Oregon Institute of Technology and Sky Lakes Medical Center.
 
Jackson County is also submitting its own application. The VA is expected to decide on a county to start construction in mid-March.