6/22/2010
Public forum over hospital land transfer held
| |
|
 |
| Farrel Krall, a member of the Van Wert County Hospital Commission voices his displeasure at Monday night’s forum on the transfer of land from the county to the Van Wert Hospital Association. Krall was one of the few who spoke out against any aspect of the proposed land deal at the meeting. |
 |
 |
| A crowd of more than 100 gathered in the Marsh Foundation Auditorium Monday evening to hear and speak about the proposed deal to transfer the land on which Van Wert County Hospital was built back to hospital control. |
|
BY ED GEBERT
Times Bulletin News Writer
egebert@timesbulletin.com
The public debate about the proposed transfer of the land that houses the Van Wert County Hospital moved from whispers and media statements to an open meeting Monday night.
Representatives of the Van Wert County Hospital Association, the Van Wert County Commissioners and the Van Wert County Hospital Commission sat at tables on the stage of the Marsh Foundation Auditorium to interact with the more than 100 residents in attendance.
Surprisingly, few dissenting voices were heard at the forum. The plan for the county to transfer the 18 acres to the hospital had drawn fire in the media, largely from county employees. On Monday night, none of those persons spoke up, although they did attend the meeting.
No one had issues with the operation of the health care facility, however two concerns were brought forth about the process of transferring the land. More than one question from the floor dealt with the possibility of putting the question on the November ballot to allow all registered voters to decide.
"I don't know the legal aspect of that," admitted County Commissioner Gary Adams after the meeting. "You would have to send something like that into the secretary of state. I don't know if we can consider that, but we hadn't considered it."
The commissioners did pledge to investigate that possibility.
The harshest words of the night came from the stage itself. Of the three entities represented, members of the Van Wert County Hospital Commission had the least to say. The group which is charged with overseeing the hospital operation has not had any official discussion of the proposed land transfer, and according to commission member Farrel Krall, the group has been kept in the dark on the deal.
"We, as a commission, first formally heard about this on Jan. 18 when the commissioners called us together and said, 'We ought to tell you about what's been going on for the past five or six years.' Then we got to see the draft of the transfer agreement at a meeting on May 25," Krall recounted. "I do, as a member of the commission, have some very clearly defined responsibilities and obligations under the Ohio Revised Code to represent the citizens of Van Wert County. And that's my concern, that we have not been involved."
Krall continued, "That's an obligation that we, the commission, have, and as I get through my notes, you will see that we have been effectively shut out of the process."
With public comments limited to three minutes per person, Krall soon ran out of time. He was extended another three minutes and used that as well. He tried to continue, but the sound of his microphone was gradually lowered. Finally, he concluded, vowing to have the rest of his comments brought to the public through another venue.
"I understand why you might want to shut me out of the process because some of these things sound a little bit negative," Krall suggested.
He finished by calling on the commissioners to find another option for consideration, calling the proposed transfer agreement "...the dominant product of the hospital association and is brought to the county commissioners for their approval, authorization, and implementation. It's just as clear to me that for some seemingly obscure reason, the hospital commission, of which I have been a member for seven years, has not been made aware of these discussions that apparently have been taking place for the last five to six years."
After concluding his remarks, Krall gathered his notes for a few minutes before walking off the Marsh stage and out of the building as closing statements were being made.
Afterward, Adams lamented, "I wish someone else would have spoken from the commission. I don't know if they didn't want to or if time didn't allow it."
The proposed agreement would transfer control of the property from the county to the hospital. Currently, the hospital association leases the land from the county for $1 per year. The organization is requesting title to the land to enable them to receive better financing options for future expansion and renovation projects.
A line of residents, business persons, doctors and others rose to speak about the benefits of the document.
One of the biggest issues in the debate was not brought out. Several county department heads have voiced their displeasure with the plan, citing the fact that the hospital itself was built with $1.225 million in bonds paid for by county residents in 1956. County Prosecutor Charles Kennedy has made public calls for the hospital to repay those funds in order to receive the property title.
The only allusions to that argument came in the form of noting the amount of service provided by VWCH over the years.
The transfer agreement was drawn up specifically to give the county some protection and some say in the operation of the hospital. The document guarantees the county one seat on the hospital association board, and gives assurances that the hospital will continue under local control unless the commissioners agree to a sale. That scenario is not under consideration, according to Hospital Association Board President Jon Rhoades, although he admitted that many offers for the hospital have been made.
The next step in the process is a July meeting of the Van Wert County Hospital Commission. Adams summarized, "I think the commissioners have some ideas and we're just going to have to wait on the hospital commission to make that decision. If they want more information, we'll have to gather that for them."
|
Article Comment Submission Form
|
|
