HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 01/26/1995MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL
AMES, IOWA JANUARY 26, 1995
The Ames City Council met in a special session at 7:05 p.m., January 26, 1995, in the Ames City
Auditorium, 515 Clark, Ames, Iowa, pursuant to law with Mayor Larry Curtis presiding and the
following Council Members present: Campbell, Tedesco, and Hoffman. Coun. Brown arrived late.
Couns. Parks and Wirth were absent.
PUBLIC INPUT ON HOSPITAL OPTIONS: Mayor Curtis noted that the purpose of this
meeting was to provide the public with an opportunity to present their comments concerning the
Hospital transaction options. He declared the public hearing open, and asked that comments be
limited to 5 minutes at the outset, and that speakers would have an opportunity to speak a second
time if they so wished.
Coun. Brown arrived at 7:10 p.m.
Dick Clem, 1531 Stone Brooke Road, said he was representing the Ames Chamber of Commerce.
He thanked the Council, City Staff, Board of Trustees, and the Hospital Administration for the many
hours they have spent on this issue. He said the Chamber's Hospital Ownership Taskforce also held
many meetings regarding this issue. He said at the January 18, 1995 meeting, the Chamber Board
voted unanimously to: (1) support the City Council taking action to change the existing ordinance
governing Mary Greeley Medical Center, (2) to pursue passage of legislation at the State level to
allow the sale and transfer of the assets of MGMC, and (3) to support an eventual establishment of
a non-profit organization to administer the facility with the City retaining ownership of MGMC.
Dean Hunziker, 3209 Maplewood, said he was also representing the Chamber of Commerce, and
had served on the Chamber's Taskforce. He said he wished to emphasize the importance of the
Council taking action on this issue as soon as possible. He said not to do so could result in
healthcare services being taken away from Ames, which would have a dramatic economic impact
upon the City.
Merlin Pfannkuch, 1424 Kellogg, said he now favored selling the Hospital to a private firm, and
wished to explain why. He said this meeting was billed as a meeting on Hospital options. He said
the Council had previously voted to accept reports from consultants who reported to the Healthcare
Study Committee, spent hours in public meetings, and spent $90,000 to analyze four transaction
options. He said now, it appears that the option under consideration may well be a fifth option, that
of revising the existing ordinance concerning Hospital governance. He said the only explanation
the public has received concerning this fifth option was a letter from the City Attorney and a draft
of a revised ordinance. He said there has been almost no public discussion of what the revised
ordinance means, and he felt there were many questions that needed to be asked and answered. He
said he was concerned that this option was being portrayed as an interim step, and said he questioned
what was at the top and bottom of that stairway.
Mr. Pfannkuch said he was very skeptical of the City giving the Hospital Board of Trustees more
freedom, and was concerned about the role McFarland Clinic would play. He expressed concerns
about the Hospital's administrative committee not meeting requirements of the Open Meetings Law,
and that McFarland Clinic's financial situation was not public record. He said the geographical
proximity to Des Moines works against McFarland Clinic and MGMC. He said it was not in the
City's best interest to try to compete with Des Moines. He said there was an overcapacity of
specialists at the Clinic, and an overcapacity of beds at the Hospital. He said there were some very
good doctors at the Clinic, but very poor businessmen. He said therefore, he felt it was best to try
to sell the Hospital to a private, for-profit firm, while it is still worth something.
Marvin Julius, 2116 Northwestern, said he wished to express his support for the judgement of the
City Council and the Board of Trustees. He said he had served on several human service agency
boards, and felt such boards would continue to provide a valuable service to the community in the
future. He said if any healthcare services were going to be provided north of Des Moines, Ames was
in the right geographic location to do so. He said he supported the steps the City had taken thus far,
and felt they could compete very well.
Emil Peterson, 2730 Valley View Road, said he was employed by Iowa Benefits, and therefore had
a financial interest in the outcome of any decision about the Hospital. He said the whole issue was
about competition in the healthcare industry. He said he felt the proposed ordinance revision would
be the most efficient way to accomplish a needed change. He suggested the issue be viewed as an
evolutionary process, and said the ordinance revision could be the first step in that process. He said
if it didn't work, steps could always be taken backward.
Merlin Pfannkuch, 1424 Kellogg, said Batista Simpson wished to speak at this hearing, but had
not yet arrived.
Mayor Curtis said no further testimony would be allowed once the hearing was closed.
There being no one present wishing to testify further, the public hearing was declared closed.
Coun. Tedesco said he wished to respond to comments regarding the so-called "fifth option." He
said the issue of health care in Ames was being discussed before he was elected to the Council, and
he resented accusations that there had not been public opportunities to discuss this subject. He said
there had been a number of opportunities to do so. He said the City of Ames was blessed with
having Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, and also with the support team of doctors available
in this community. He said through his professional experience in the insurance industry, he is
aware that there is a great change going on in health care. He said in order for MGMC to be allowed
to participate in this changing atmosphere, he believed the City must give the elected trustees as
much empowerment as possible to experience that arena, and see what the results will be. He said
because of the limitations imposed by the State Code and various legal opinions, in addition to the
outstanding bond issues, this "fifth option" was a temporary solution to move forward. He noted
in June of 1994, the Council had voted unanimously to look at restructuring of MGMC. He said he
also felt the Council should direct Staff to investigate the enabling legislation that might give the
City more flexibility to transfer ownership of MGMC into some other structure, whether for profit
or non-profit, while still maintaining some semblance of local control. He said residents had
indicated to him that was their desire, rather than ceding control to outside large corporations.
Coun. Hoffman said she would be happy to hear from any member of the audience who arrived late,
and suggested they could also provide the Council with written comments.
Motion by Tedesco, Second by Brown, that the option of revising Chapter 12
of the Municipal Code to provide additional authority to the Hospital Board
of Trustees, and proceeding with trying to assert enabling legislation at the
State level be placed on the Council's agenda for the February 14, 1995
meeting.
Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Coun. Brown said she felt the public did need to be more informed about what the revised ordinance
would accomplish. She said the education of the citizens was an important component of this issue.
She said perhaps the Public Relations Officer could design a program using Cable TV, newspapers,
etc. to inform the public about this option.
Motion by Brown, Second by Campbell, to direct the City's Public Relations
Officer to prepare materials and design a program using Cable TV,
newspapers, and other available resources to educate the public about what
revising the City's current ordinance would accomplish.
Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Sandra L. Ryan, City Clerk Larry R. Curtis, Mayor