Marshall County Coroner John Grolich asked the commissioners Monday morning to consider the construction of a morgue and office space for his department.
“It doesn’t need to be a fancy building, but it’s got to be serviceable,” said Grolich. “We’re traveling now to another county to do our autopsies, but we’re not serving our public very well. Somehow we need to explore some options or opportunities to create some workable solutions.”
In a preliminary discussion, the commissioners felt that the best location would be at the Marshall County Jail, but more research into that possibility will be done before a decision. The facility would need to have access to city water and sewer per regulations.
Grolich said currently he transports bodies to several different areas which results in additional costs for fuel and storage in an out-of-county facility.
In a recent incident, Grolich said a woman passed away about a week ago who lived outside of the United States. He’s been working with international officials to arrange details, but he will need to move her body out of the cooler area of the hospital and place her at a facility until arrangements can be made to return her home. A local facility would have helped to slow down the deterioration process, according to Grolich.
The commissioners agreed to get more information on the construction of a facility to be included in the commissioners’ budget for 2020. In addition to a morgue, the building could be built to include office or storage space for the maintenance department or for another purpose.
