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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes2005-064 Failed Sponsored by: Corbridge --- CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA RESOLUTION 2005-64 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, APPROVING THE SITE SELECTION LOCATION FOR THE LONG-TERM CARE REPLACEMENT FACILITY, LOCATED ON THE EXISTING CITY-OWNED HOSPITAL SITE DESCRIBED AS SEWARD TOWNSITE MARATHON ADDITION REPLAT, LOT lA WHEREAS, the Seward City Council has listed the replacement of Seward ' s long-term care (LTC) facility as its number one capital priority; and WHEREAS, at the Seward City Council meeting of July 11,2005, the City Council directed administration to forward three resolutions, representing the final three site selection options, in order to make a final site determination; and WHEREAS, of the three alternatives, this site described as Seward Townsite Marathon Addition Replat, Lot lA reflects the existing city-owned property currently housing the acute care hospital, parking lot, and helipad, and construction of the a LTC facility on this site will necessarily utilize the current parking lot and helipad land, necessitating off site parking or construction of a .... parking garage, and relocation of the helipad offsite or construction of a rooftop helipad; and WHEREAS, this alternative does not require purchasing additional property for the long- term care facility, but will require a zoning variance for the new construction, since the new facility footprint will exceed current zoning regulations relating to allowable site coverage, and the size of the property will not allow for future expansion and will necessitate the CT scarmer machine remaining in the City's right-of-way. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA, that: Section 1. The City Council ofthe City of Seward, Alaska hereby selects the existing city- owned hospital property described as Seward Townsite Marathon Addition replat, Lot lA, as the site for the long-term care replacement facility. .... CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA RESOLUTION 2005-64 j Section 2. The City administration is hereby authorized to pursue a Certificate of Need Application with the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, for the purpose of constructing a long-term care facility in Seward, and to begin the planning and design phase of this project immediately. Section 3. This Resolution shall take effect immediately. PASSED AND APPROVED by the City Council of the City of Seward, Alaska, this 13th day of July, 2005. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAlN: ATTEST: THE CITY OF SEWARD, ALASKA i~fe~ None Branson, Dunham, Valdatta, Amberg, Clark, Lorenz, Shafer None None ,l .J ~ . }. l,~) .x) -" !iJ /VI. ' Ld, Jea Lewis. C~ City Clerk (City Seal) \\,UIII".", .......... Or: Sc~t'", .:- ~4. ........ :Af~'I $ c} ....o?PO~';... ;0 -::. .. ...~c; ~""':'.-:' : ......:: -+-- v. .. .. : ~ . "'SEAL'. :e: :0: '-. ~ : = ~\ ---:= ~ .. vi/. 'lr ... lilt ~ tSlX'....\te 1 \~>-'i!:$ "'...f\ ~h.:......lo., 9'-~.... ';,~ t;:' OF p..\.: t'.-' ""UUll"\' ..J Council Agenda Statement Meeting Date: July 13, 2005 Through: Clark Corbridge, City Manager From: Kristin Erchinger, Finance Director Agenda Item: Site for Long-Term Care Replacement Facility: Option - Existing City-Owned Hospital Site BACKGROUND & JUSTIFICATION : The Seward City Council has listed the replacement of Seward’s long-term care facility as its number one capital priority. Since 2004, the City has worked with ECI Hyer, Inc. to examine potential site options for the long-term care replacement facility. Initially, our efforts were focused on attempting to utilize existing space on the current hospital site, or adjacent privately-owned parcels. This narrow focus was predicated on a faulty assumption; we assumed that collocation (which qualifies us for higher reimbursement rates and therefore, higher revenues) required physical connection of the hospital and long-term care buildings. Based on this assumption, we believed we had to build the new facility on the existing or adjacent property. This assumption was corrected by Marty Michiels of Financial Consultants of Alaska, who researched the matter and determined that physical connectedness was not a requirement for collocation. Efforts to design the long-term care facility on existing or adjacent property did not produce positive results. First, it was clear that utilizing neighboring Global Ministries-owned Wesley property was not feasible. This would require relocation of the residents of the facility during demolition of the existing facility and construction of the new facility, and would require the City to purchase property from Global. This was not considered a viable option given the serious adverse financial impact to the hospital of the loss of these patients, and the difficulty of regaining adequate census after completion of construction. In addition, the time involved in demolishing the old facility and pursuing acquisition of the Global property, would jeopardize our ability to complete the facility in time to benefit from re- basing of rates that will be effective January, 2007. Another consideration involved purchasing adjacent privately-owned property to the East, allowing expansion of the campus, but the property owner was unwilling to consider a sale. Ultimately, the only viable on-site option was to build the new facility on the land currently used for parking and the helipad. This solution is problematic for a number of reasons. First, parking will not be available on-site unless an underground parking garage is constructed, and this is expected to involve considerable cost. Customers of the hospital would have to walk considerable distance to enter the facility if off-site parking was required. Second, the helipad will have to be relocated either off-site, or on the roof of the newly constructed building. Since the City currently lacks adequate fire-fighting equipment to fight a rooftop fire, safety is a primary concern. A rooftop helipad would also be very costly and would adversely impact the residents of the facility, making it not a viable option. Relocating the helipad offsite would benefit local neighborhood residents, but would adversely impact the quality of patient care by adding time for transport in emergency situations. Utilizing the existing hospital property is also problematic because the small size of the property makes it extremely difficult to construct a facility that will meet the desired residential model of care. Located in the shadow of Mount Marathon, the new facility will have very little exposure to the sun. The small property footprint makes it impossible to create outdoor spaces for residents to stroll or to garden. The number of beds in the facility will have to be reduced in order to fit the available space. A zoning variance will be required in order to fit the new facility on existing property, since there will be inadequate parking available, and the footprint will utilize more of the property than is currently allowed under zoning regulations. The existing CT scanner will remain in the City’s road right-of-way, and Site Selection for Long-Term Care Replacement Facility there will be no room for future expansion of either the Existing City-owned Hospital Property Page Two hospital or the long-term care facility. There is also serious concern that the small size of the property will severely limit the design flexibility, resulting in a facility that cannot accommodate the space requirements of a more residential-style model of care. This can have significant long-term adverse financial implications, since the City will have to compete with other facilities for patients, making the attractiveness of this facility of paramount concern. Once the Council has made a final site selection decision, the administration will proceed with filing the required Certificate of Need for the long-term care facility, and will begin the planning and design phase of the project. CONSISTENCY CHECKLIST : Yes No N/A 1. Comprehensive Plan XX 2. Strategic Plan XX FISCAL NOTE: There is no cost associated with acquiring property for construction of the long-term care facility under this scenario. However, there are expected to be significant costs associated with constructing an on-site helipad and parking garage if this site option is chosen, with the alternative being to identify off-site properties for parking and helipad location. There are also expected to be significant lost opportunity costs associated with the inability to design a spacious, attractive facility that will meet the desired residential model of care, which will likely impede our ability to attract and retain residents in the long-term care facility, thus jeopardizing the reimbursement rates (revenues) necessary to ensure financial viability of the collocated facility. Approved by Finance Department: ____________________________________ RECOMMENDATION: The Seward City Council identify a specific site for the long-term care replacement facility, and direct the administration to proceed with filing a Certificate of Need for a long-term care facility with the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, and to proceed with planning and design of the new facility.