Posted: 11/27/02

Green Acres plan moves forward

Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Attempts by County Commissioner Ben Montzka to slow plans for a new Green Acres facility and a county government center in North Branch ran into road blocks last week.

Montzka, who serves the Wyoming and Stacy areas, appealed to fellow county board members to table plans during the Wednesday, Nov. 20 regular county board session. In light of the Nov. 5 election defeat of two incumbent county board members, Montzka said democracy would be well served by handing the building projects over to the new county board in 2003.

But after last weekís meeting, planning is continuing for the purchase of land, relocation of Green Acres to a site adjacent to Tanger Outlet Center in North Branch, and the sale of the county-owned property in North Branch where the current nursing home is located.

Based on the results of the election and the countyís involvement in what could be a $21 million project, Montzka said it was right for the decisions to fall to the new board, not a lame duck board.

ìWeíve had an election; we live in a democracy,î Montzka said last week.

The Wyoming commissioner offered two motions last week to table further spending on the Green Acres project and to suspend further county spending on the government center project and seek revocation of a county purchase agreement for the land near Tanger Outlet Center.

Both motions lost 4-1 behind votes from Chairman Bob Vande Kamp, Tom Delaney, Bob Gustafson and Mike Robinson. Vande Kamp was defeated on Nov. 5 by Lora Walker and Delaney, who lost in the Sept. 10 primary, will be succeeded by Rick Olseen next year.

Land dealings

The county board is continuing to advance on land purchases needed for the relocation of the nursing home and construction of a new government building in North Branch.

On Nov. 6, Vande Kamp, as county board chair, signed a purchase agreement for the acquisition of a 20-acre site west of CR-68 and Tanger Outlet Center as a site for the new Green Acres.

The agreement with Fernwood Developers, Inc. of North Branch calls for the county to pay $312,000 for the land.

The 20-acre site would be used to construct a $14 million state-of-the-art nursing home that would have capacity for 108 residents. The current facility houses 135 residents.

Under the countyís plan, the cost would be offset by two prime revenue sources.

The county expects to net $800,000 from the sale of the existing 108-acre Green Acres site and buildings.

Bonds sold to pay for construction would be repaid by the income stream generated from residents at Green Acres.

A purchase agreement with Little Sweden, Inc., of North Branch for the purchase of 8.31 acres east of CR-68 and west of Tanger is pending. The county is considering a $400,000 offer for the land which would be used to build a 45,000 square foot government center.

The total project is expected to reach $6.9 million, according to architectural figures recently presented to the county board, Montzka said this week.

Once plat approval is finalized by the county, the purchase agreement can proceed, he said.

As part of the government center project, the county has an option to purchase an additional six acres to the south of the 8.31 acre parcel from Little Sweden at a cost of $300,000.

The current plan calls for the new nursing home to be constructed and built by 2004.

The new Green Acres site is also slated to accommodate an attached 40-room assisted living facility and the relocation of a Fairview medical clinic in North Branch to the new site.

An underground natural gas pipe line which runs through the Green Acres site must be relocated at a cost to the county of about $100,000, Montzka said.

The new government center would house health and human services workers and other departments based in North Branch. It would be built next year and occupied in 2004.

When to do?

In carrying his points to the county board last week, Montzka said he believed the board was within its legal right to act, but questioned if it was proper based on the election.

ìIt would be responsible to our democracy to put it off,î Montzka said.

Montzka found little support from the other four commissioners.

ìThis is something that makes a lot of sense,î Delaney said of the plan.

He stood by the county planning process and said the move of the nursing home to an area near I-35 is what seniors want and avoids remodeling and renovation of the old Green Acres that would be costly.

ìThey donít want to be stuck out in the woods,î he said. ìThey want to be where the action is.î

The county in 2002 commissioned Horty Elving & Associates, Inc. of Minneapolis for a facility evaluation of Green Acres. The report estimated remodeling costs of $10.4 million and recommended the facility be built ìon a more visible and accessible site.î

A county report this fall indicated costs of $5 million to remodeling the existing Green Acres facility for other office use, perhaps by the county.

Robinson, who represents the Rush City area, said he welcomed the opportunity for Walker and Olseen to be updated on the planning, but was reluctant to go along with Montzkaís motions to table.

ìIím looking for some kind of compromise,î Robinson said. ìI believe what were doing here is right.î

Vande Kamp and Gustafson both spoke to what they said was a six-year planning project. Gustafson said the public needs to know there is no ìfast trackî and the project is not a ìramrodî job.

Vande Kamp said postponing the decision could prove costly in terms of not having state funding reimbursement approval if delays developed.

Montzka appealed to the current lame duck incumbents to ìstand downî and allow the new county board to take up the challenge.

ìItís the right thing to do,î Montzka said of the decision to table. By waiting, Montzka said the county would have time to consider the input of the two new commissioners and further consider what he called the largest single spending decision in county history.

The Wyoming commissioner repeated his insistence the county retain an independent firm to review the project to determine its financial viability.

The county recently concluded a two-year consulting agreement with the Board of Social Ministry at an annual cost of $72,000 for its nursing home study. Steve Mork, a former administrator at Green Acres, is project consultant

BSM, Inc. holds a 25-year lease of the Green Acres Country Care Center. The current lease was signed in 1996. BSMís role with Green Acres dates to 1985 when the non-profit organization was hired by the county to manage operations.

Officials said last week work on a new lease remains in the preliminary stages. The countyís facilities committee is working on the lease which could contain provisions for county divestiture of its nursing home interests.

The county is yet to specify when that may happen or at what cost.

As the planning steps continue this week, Montzka said he was frustrated the democratic process carried out on election day was being ignored by the majority of the county board.

While the county board is acting within its legal boundaries in the waning days of the year, Montzka questioned the actions. It is not a question of ìcan we do it,î he said, it is a question of ì should we do it.î

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