Houston looking at dismantling $17M temp hospital that didn't see a single patient

So imagine what Harris County, home to Houston, must be feeling right now given that when it's all said and done, they will have spent about $17 million on a temporary hospital that has yet to see a single patient. According to KPRC-TV, the coronavirus hospital could have cost Harris County as much as $60 million. Instead, the final price tag will likely be around $17 million, even though the facility did virtually nothing -- which is why it could soon be closed. "Construction on the temporary medical shelter began just over two weeks ago and was finished in a matter of days. It features 250 beds and is equipped to handle an influx of COVID-19 patients," KPRC reported of the temporary hospital, which is situated at NRG Park. The problem isn't just that Harris County stayed ahead of coronavirus to the extent that the hospital didn't need to see a single patient. It's also about the fact that Harris County had a dubious arrangement with Garner Environmental Services, which designed the hospital and has helped run it. For instance, various security officers at the site received daily remuneration of $2,875, $2,300 and $2,012, KPRC reported. A finance section chief made $2,875 a day, the outlet added. Meanwhile, two public information officers reportedly made $2,012 a day. That might not seem that bad until you realize the contract stipulated that “contact with the news media, citizens of Harris County or governmental agencies shall be the responsibility of the county.” And while the hospital was constructed before Houston was experiencing peak resource usage, the city never came close to using enough beds to divert patients to the makeshift facility...MORE

Looks like a boondoggle for sure. Hard to blame it all on the local folks...doubt if they would have done it if the feds hadn't agreed to pay 75 percent of the cost. 

To be fair, the federal government has said it will cover 75 percent of the cost for the hospital, which means the good news for Harris County is that they won't have to pay the full $17 million.
Of course, the bad news is that you'll have to pay for it if you pay federal taxes. And for a county, $4.25 million is still a fair amount of money.