The LDC Vote

Today at the Board Meeting, the Board voted to establish a Local Development Corporation and transfer the ownership of the Manor to that organization. The County retains a firm grip on the finances and operation of the Manor, and the LDC's sole purpose is to sell it to... well, we hope to the bidder who represents the highest quality of care in their current facilities.

I offered an amendment to the resolution which separated the creation of the LDC (which would remain in the resolution) and the transfer of the Manor (which would be struck from the resolution). There was a fair amount of debate on this amendment, but it failed, with only John Kosmer and myself voting for it.

I had originally argued that the LDC's mission should include submitting their final choice to the Board for a vote (before the Department of Health process started), so the Board could take responsibility for the choice, like many of us had promised to do. It turns out, according to County Attorney Ellen Coccoma, that this process would trip us into a 215 situation – it would be seen as Board action to sell the Manor, and as such we would have to sell to the highest bidder, full stop.

I'm still not convinced that the 'highest responsible bidder' means what many think it means – 'responsible' equalling 'able to pay' – but I had to go with our attorney's advice, given the time constraints.

The amendment that I did offer – separating the creation of the LDC from the transfer – was an attempt to do the same thing: to allow the Board to vote on the LDC's final choice of buyer. I offered the amendment for two reasons. First, as you know, I'm concerned about the Board giving up its right to take responsibility for the final sale. This would allow the Board to transfer the Manor to the LDC for sale after the successful bidder had proven that it had a high-quality track record. Second, I thought that we needed to have a public debate on this, if for no other reason than to honor those members of the public who have spent as many months working on this issue as we have. I think it's important to note that in all the public comment sessions and public hearings on this issue, only an infinitesimal percentage of those who participated were in favor of the sale and/or the LDC. The LDC/transfer separation was a legitimate solution offered by many of the public, and today it got a hearing.

The final vote on the full resolution was 11-3, with Keith McCarty, John Kosmer and myself voting against. I think we need to sell the Manor – there are no alternatives left, it seems – but I am unhappy with the LDC process, especially the fact that it takes the responsibility from those of us who were elected to exercise that responsibility.