By Mark Hansel
NKYTribune managing editor
The Northern Kentucky Health Department Board of Directors is expected to consider two proposals for the construction of a new district office at the March 9 District Board meeting.
Initially, it appeared a site on the City of Florence Government campus would be chosen for the new building. An eleventh-hour push by the City of Independence, despite questions about the propriety of its participation in an alternate proposal, now have another site back under consideration as well.
The Health Department District Office is located in Edgewood at a building that is beyond capacity. The Health Department also has offices in several locations throughout Northern Kentucky and is seeking a new site to consolidate operations and accommodate future growth.
The move would not include any of the Department’s County Health Centers.
Proposals were submitted by the City of Florence for a site at the Government Center campus and by Lakeside Christian Church for a site at Turkeyfoot Road and Industrial Road in Independence.
The Department’s Building Committee recommended the Florence site, but at an executive committee meeting in February, Independence City Administrator Chris Moriconi lobbied on behalf of the Lakeside Christian Church site. The Executive Committee chose to send both proposals to the full board without a recommendation.
Independence vs. Florence
The Lakeside Christian Church proposal indicates the City of Independence would contribute $100,000 toward the purchase price of the land and would provide free snow removal and lawn care for 20 years. The Florence proposal specified a $1,600 monthly cost for landscaping and parking lot maintenance, with no city contribution toward the sale.
The City of Florence submitted a purchase price of $160,000 an acre, while the Lakeside Christian Church proposal identified a cost of $125,000 per acre. Each site includes four acres of land.
Dr. Jonathan Rich, chair of the Health Department Building Committee, said that each proposal had its merits, but the decision came down to which was the best long-term fit for the Health Department. While cost was a consideration, Rich said other factors, such as proximity to the projected population growth in Southern Boone and Grant counties were also given strong consideration.
“It was based on the fact that we were charged to find the location that best suited the needs of the Health Department,” Rich said. “This is something that is going to have to accommodate their needs for at least the next 20 or 30 years.”
In its summary, the Building Committee cited the following reasons as among those that factored in to its decision to recommend the Florence location:
* The Florence site is appropriate for the Health Department as a public agency as the site is already an established government campus. The facility will look similar to the existing government structures already on site, addressing the guidelines set by the committee for a simple/efficient building design.
* The Florence site is on the same campus as local law enforcement. Safety and security of staff and visitors is of primary importance, due in part to the Health Department being a government agency and to the nature of the work that staff performs. Having a law enforcement presence nearby not only provides peace of mind and a faster response time should they be needed, but can also act as a deterrent. This report indicated that businesses open to pedestrian traffic, government properties and health care facilities are three of the top seven locations for active shooting incidents. The new building could be categorized as all three.
* The Florence site is located in an area of the health district where future growth is expected to occur (Boone County and Northern Grant County), which reflects where our services are most needed now and will continue to be most needed in the future.
* The Florence site is significantly closer to I-71/75, which is the most commonly traveled route for staff to use to go between sites, facilities, and community partners.
In response to a survey question, 70 percent of Health Department staff members also preferred the Florence site. All but three of the 80 impacted staff members responded to the survey question.
Independence Mayor Chris Reinersman disagrees with the recommendation of the Building Committee and said the wording of the survey question may have skewed the responses in favor of Florence. He said locating the Health Department site in independence could spur development in an area that sorely needs it.
“While we are not that much smaller than Florence, we desperately need employees,” Reinersman said. “The Health Department has a great opportunity to be a strong catalyst to kickstart development in the area and that’s why we have aggressively pursued this.”
Reinersman acknowledged that it is not the Health Department’s responsibility to spur economic development in a city. He said, however, that if there is a satisfactory site available, and one city clearly needs help more than another, there is nothing wrong with the Health Department providing that assistance.
He also said the city acted within its authority in offering to contribute $100,000 toward the purchase.
“At the time we put together the bid, we told the (Independence City) Council what we would like to do and we have gotten their blessing,” Reinersman said. “Our council, in a few days, will formally ratify the decision, so that’s not a problem.”
Not so sure
The Health Department Board members are not so sure.
In its summary, the Building Committee questioned whether Independence officials acted within their authority in agreeing to the contributions in the Lakeside Christian Church proposal.
“Although Lakeside Christian Church has indicated in their proposal that the City of Independence will contribute $100,000 towards the purchase price and will provide snow removal and lawn care for free for 20 years, the legal authority for these provisions have been questioned.”
Despite its decision not to endorse either proposal, the Health Department’s Executive Committee raised the following concerns regarding the Lakeside Christian Church proposal in its summary:
* Does the City have the legal authority to contribute $100,000.00 of the purchase price on behalf of the Health Department to the Lakeside Christian Church?
Specifically, what legal authority(s) permit the City to expend city revenues on behalf of the Health Department for purchase of property over which the Health Department has exclusive ownership and can the Health Department reasonably rely upon that expenditure as being legal and not subject to challenge in the future by either the City or its taxpayers?
* Has the City’s expenditure of money for the Health Department purchase already been approved by the City Council, and can the Health Department reasonably expect that this proposed contribution of $100,000.00 will be not be subject to challenge by Independence taxpayers?
* The City of Independence has proposed assuming the snow removal and lawn care costs for the property for 20 years after the purchase by the Health Department. What legal authority authorizes the City Council to bind future City Councils to the agreement of no charge for grounds maintenance over the next twenty years, if the Health Department accepts the Lakeside Christian Church’s proposal?
Reinersman said the question of City Council approval has already been answered. He added that if it was necessary to secure an agreement and avoid legal concerns, the city would buy the property from Lakeside Christian Church for the asking price and sell it to the Health Department at a $100,000 discount.
Subsidy for land sale?
That still does not answer the question of whether it is proper for a city to subsidize a private land sale.
There is also no indication that the residents of Independence have had an opportunity to weigh in on, or have even been made aware of, what would be a significant expenditure of tax dollars. In addition to the purchase subsidy there is also the issue of maintenance for 20 years, which would also be provided by the City of Independence using tax dollars.
Reinersman said the support from the City Council was given in an executive session, which is not conducted in public.
He added that the city would recoup the expenses fairly quickly, based on estimated tax revenue from the Health Department’s $4 million payroll from its 80 employees.
Florence Mayor Diane Whalen said the city simply responded to an inquiry from the Health Department regarding a request for proposal. She was a bit taken aback by the controversy over the Building Committee’s decision.
“They came to us because of the property that was here and available and asked if we were interested,” Whalen said. “The whole purpose of this campus when it was set up nearly 20 years ago was that it would house government-type operations and create a campus of sorts. That’s why Kentucky One Stop is here, why at one point the Social Security office was across the street and why the Boone County Clerk has an office here.”
The Health Department office fit with that strategy and Whalen said the Florence City Council approved submitting a response to the request for proposal. Florence did not offer any monetary discounts and would be reimbursed for providing maintenance, so the legality of their proposal did not raise concerns from the Building Committee.
“We responded on the points that they asked for and obviously I think it’s a better site because it answers all the questions in the request for proposal,” Whalen said.
The Independence City Council has a meeting scheduled for Monday, March 7, at which time Reinersman said it is expected to formally consider support for the Lakeside Christian Church site, as outlined in its proposal.
The Health Department Board meeting March 9, which will take place at the District Office at 610 Medical Village Drive in Edgewood, is open to the public.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com