Whether Mr. Urich gave the LWVGP all the background about why build a new Bel-Wood Nurisng Home in a new location, I cannot say, but Mr. Urich and Democrat Board members, started this campaign in 2007 when maintenance management at the County Nursing Home, was instructed to "only repair life safety issues". This action later caused a number of photos of disrepair at B-W furnished to some board members and the media. Thus started the rumors that the old (43 years) Bel-Wood was dilapidated and a new one was needed.
A friend of mine in the building business told me that he would repair all the damage shown in the pictures for $25,000.00.
A company out of Springfield was hired in 2007. Their studies showed that the renovation could be done for approximately $12,500,000.00 which would include new roofing, a sprinkler system, new electrical and plumbing plus all other renovations requested by Mr. Urich. A series of consultants were then hired recommended other renovations and a new firm was hired to estimate the cost of renovating and the cost of a new building. Renovations jumped from $12+ million to eventually $29 million including so called "soft cost", engineers, estimators, consultants and more consultants.
New building costs rose from $37 million including soft costs to somewhere between an Estimated $51+ million to date. That figure may or may not include the cost of tearing down old buildings existing at the planned new location in West Peoria and site renovation. That figure is estimated to be in the $5-7 million range.
In year 2000, a prominent firm, LTZ, offered to do all this work for a total cost including interest on the loan for near $10 million. Mr. Urich and County Board Chairpersons, Lynn Pearson and Dave Williams recommended that since we did not have the money, the work could not be done.
Admittedly, the county had to borrow to meet one of its payrolls at the time I came on the board in 2000.
It was a know fact that the building should have had, but was not required to have, a sprinkler system and a new roof. Now President Barack Obama, did get $237,000 to install a sprinkler system but County Administration used that money for engineers, consultants, etc., for the building still in a planning stage.
It has been my long time statements that this risk should not be placed on the residents of Peoria County in these times of growing economic security, home and abroad.
Now in 2011, we do not have the money and costs have escalated sharply.
Mr. Urich when addressing the LWVGP (League of Women Voters) on February 19, 2011, said "Bel-Wood is financially challenged, since it receives only $105 a day per person from state Medicaid funds, (of the 220 patients at B-W, approx. 170 are Medicaid) but has costs of $170 a day. The state owes B_W $2.1 million, and has not paid it though required by law to do so".
Clouding the financial situation of 30 year bond payments, is an article in the @/21/2011 issue of USA TODAY titled, "Managed care goes private" saying that 2/3 of all nursing homes get about 2/3 of their revenues from Medicaid. Also, that present system is heading for more strains as Baby Boomer age. It is common knowledge that many baby Boomers do not have the retirement money they planned on.
Studies show that about 99% of patients would rather be taken care of by Care Givers, etc. in their own homes, than be in a nursing home.
Also, I'm sure Mr. Urich did not mention that B-W is currently funded by approximately $3 million (and growing) property tax payers in Peoria County yet approximately 10% of their patients come from surrounding counties and therefore do not pay taxes for B-W that are assessed to Peoria County residents.
In Florida, the Herald Tribune of Sarasota reported on 2/20/2011 that the State is making an effort to contain costs and is courting a disaster. "Medicaid will soon eat up nearly one/third of the states budget, doubling since 2001 to an estimated $21.6 billion this year."
Yet Peoria Democrats and and a couple of Republicans plan to build a "state of the art building", in competition to most local nursing homes who PAY taxes, supporting the 160 unionized employees who work for B-W with money they don't have and with little idea of the financial future or the facility that already collects $3 million a year of property tax owners.
I also doubt Mr. Urich told the listeners that B-W had a deficit of $4.1 million when they sold the referendum resulting in a large property tax increase in 2003. This additional tax money started to go to B-W in 2004. Later the County Board "approved", although I cannot get a copy of the approval from administration, that all B-W "soft" costs like pensions, insurance, etc. are paid for out of other county funds not connected to B-W causing some County Board Members to believe that the current B-W breaks even????
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