County commissioners are deeply divided on the issue of selling the home. Some believe it's no longer a good idea for the county to be in the health care business and that the taxpayers would best be served by selling the facility -- or at least taking bids to determine its worth. Others are just as determined that the county must keep the facility and warn that any potential buyers will be more likely to turn away patients.

The courthouse committee heard Tuesday night that the cost of running the nursing home once Bedford County Medical Center moves to its new location may be higher than expected. Ray reported that it could cost $50,000 per month to operate the large boiler which currently serves both the hospital and nursing home. The boiler is engineered for high output and some said it can't easily be adjusted to serve a smaller square footage. Replacing the boiler with some other type of heating system could be expensive as well. That high of a cost for running the boiler is too large to be absorbed in the nursing home's budget, said committee members.

Ray said the county's building consultant, Bud Melson, is investigating the situation and the county's options.

Meanwhile, Gary Parker of Johnson City-based Care Centers Management Group had come to Shelbyville Tuesday to ask about the possibility of the county selling the nursing home. Parker apparently hadn't made arrangements ahead of time and wasn't able to meet with Nursing Home CEO Wayne Schumann. He did, however, meet with County Mayor Eugene Ray, who invited him to stay for the courthouse committee meeting.

Parker said his company has a Christian orientation (and uses the name "Christian Care Center" for some of its facilities) but is not affiliated with any specific denomination. The company has management contracts or leases with some nursing homes and owns others. He said it has purchased three county-owned nursing homes in the last three years, including facilities in Ashland City and Springfield.

Parker said it's becoming harder to stay in the black and to keep up with federal and insurance regulations, not only for county-owned nursing homes but for any facility operating on its own.

Parker said some counties go through the same uncertainty about selling the nursing home that Bedford County faces. In one situation, he said, Care Centers Management Group leased a county-owned facility for six years. At the end of the lease, once officials were more comfortable with the situation, Care Centers exercised its option and purchased the facility.

The courthouse committee voted to ask Ray to appoint a study committee to work with Parker and decide what type of proposal the county might be interested in considering. The study committee would be composed of two members from each of the commission's four standing committees.

In other discussion at Tuesday night's committee meeting:

* The committee, which has been waiting for input from the local judicial system about its space needs, has issued a specific request to Circuit Court Clerk Thomas Smith asking questions about the number of courtrooms and offices that might be needed.

* Last month, the committee had recommended in favor of selling a house on North Main Street jointly owned by the city and the county. At the time, the committee was under the impression that the city was also in favor of selling the home. Since that time, city officials have told Ray they're in no hurry to sell the house and that the governments might get more for it by waiting to see what happens to property in the area. The issue was referred back to the courthouse committee for further study.

The committee agreed with the city's assessment and voted to recommend against selling the home at this time.

* Also last month, the committee had recommended in favor of a new vehicle for the county probation office. But the Financial Management Committee had asked for more justification. Probation Director Rory Griffy presented documentation Tuesday night, and the courthouse committee again endorsed Griffy's request and sent it back to the finance committee.

* Commissioner Joe Tillett, who attended the courthouse committee as an observer, asked about a report that Community Health Systems had moved some of its doctors into the Medical Arts Building without paying rent to the county. The MAB is owned by the county but is being managed by CHS until the hospital moves out this summer.

Ray said he's investigating those reports. He said County Finance Director Robert Daniel had noticed increasing costs from use of the facility without any increasing rental income.

The county will begin managing MAB on its own after the hospital moves. Committee members voted to contact the current tentants about their lease agreements.