In their September 2 meeting, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly authorized the purchase of a Corral lot for future expansion of the Central Peninsula Hospital.
Although the ordinance passed unanimously as amended, there were some reservations from Assembly Member Kelly Wolf.
Asm. Wolf (K-Beach): “We’ve been purchasing property for the hospital and I’d like to go on record right now that I’m getting a little concerned about the hospital acquisitions and the issue between transfer agreements and I know it’s not tied together, but I guess I’m going to go on record here, if it’s a community hospital, our hospital needs to be very attuned to that.”
Wayne Ogle echoed Wolf’s concerns, adding that the community should keep examining how these acquisitions benefit local residents.
Charlie Pierce countered their concerns, reminding everyone listening of what the task force for the hospital had heard from the community.
Asm. Pierce (Sterling): “So what you’re seeing is the hospital acting on the directions of that task force and they’re doing it themselves. So don’t lose sight of that. You’ve got two options: you can do it yourself or you can sell it and have someone else do it, or you can close up your hospital or cut services and you can go to Anchorage or you can go to Seattle or other places to provide your services, but if you want healthcare on the Peninsula, right over here, you’re going to have to allow them to compete. If they can’t compete and you tie their hands, you’re going to lose revenue, you’re going to lose patients, and ultimately at the end of the day, the debt that we have on that hospital today will be on the shoulders of every tax payer in this borough.”
With the passage of last night’s ordinance, the Borough will pay $134,300 for the property at 146 W. Corral Ave. In his committee report Brent Johnson said he believes the acquisition will still go forward, despite $22,000 worth of water damage inside the structures on the property.