Hospital to authorize bond issuance next meeting

Sonoma Valley Health Care District board of directors on Wednesday tackled a list of agenda items including financial reviews (good) to a legislative glitch (frustrating) to considering the Bond Oversight Committee applicants (impressive) and approving its by-laws (unanimously).
The board decided to defer till next meeting a resolution to authorize issuance and sale of $12 million in bonds to raise the cash that will allow them to move forward with plans for infrastructure renovation. This delay is to give the public advance notice. The decision will have some complications, in the form of what Chief Executive Officer Carl Gerlach called a legislative glitch.
The glitch, which Gerlach had alerted the board to in a previous meeting, is that the SB306 Extension Application, which would have given SVH the use of the central wing through 2030, has been denied – for a second time – based on a calculation of the debt-to-equity ratio.
The issue generated some heated discussion. Chief Financial Officer Jim McSweeney, when questioned by boardmember Arnold Riebli as to the exact meaning of “debt-to-equity ratio,” explained that it meant that the hospital was not poor enough to get the extension. The issue drew some fire from Riebli. “It’s absolutely ludicrous,” he said. “I believe the work has to be done. But I think somebody has got to take this to the state and say, ‘We, the voters cannot continue to put up with this garbage!’“ He said he would vote for the $4 million to refinance the bond issue but would refuse to vote for the rest. “Not that I’m opposed to getting it done. I want it done, but I can’t put up with this.”
Boardmember Dick Kirk said he understood Riebli’s frustration, but noted, “You’d be holding us hostage, not the state hostage.” Gina Cuclis urged Riebli to have confidence in local representatives. “We have great representatives,” she said. “If Jared Huffman is on it, it will happen. Trust the process. It will work.” The problem former mayor Stanley Cohen raised is what happens to the money if only part of it has been used and the hospital has to close.
Gerlach assured the board that while frustrating, this is a legislative technicality, and that there will be a legislative remedy. He said while there may be a question about the implications for the issuance of the bonds, but “the opinion is that we can still issue the bonds as proposed.”
•    The $12 million of this “first issue” will be spent as follows:
•    Refinance revenue bonds: $4 million;
•    Complete site assessment and detailed plans: $2 million;
•    Obtain critical equipment: $3 million;
•    Begin seismic upgrading:$1 million;
•    Begin construction of Central Utility Plant (CUP): $2 million
The board moved on to review the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee by-laws, which will guide the committee on how to keep track of the money entrusted to the board by the community, and approved them unanimously. They noted the postive response to the outreach to the community for applications for the committee. This document will guide the oversight committee on how to keep track of the money entrusted to the board by the community.
Board chair Bill Boerum announced that the board will hold a special meeting Wednesday, Jan. 21, to interview candidates for this committee. Candidates to be considered are Richard P. Graham, Mary Smith, Tom Cracraft, Dennis Ciocca, Geraldine Rosemurgy, Michael W. Gretz, Kevin W. Carruth, Frank L. Mazzone, Pamela Gibson, David Oster, Dick Senn, Robert E. Hackman, Gerald A. McGowan, and Kenneth E. Niles. Late additions, which the board agreed could be considered though they did not meet the Friday deadline, are Mark V. Stinson and Steve Barkley.
Finally, in preparation for a closed session discussion, Kirk said the proposed new Sutter Hospital in Santa Rosa is, in his estimation, flawed. He said it will not serve the community as it is, and, even though it certainly does represent competition, it may represent a certain opportunity. “I think it is an opportunity to move the whole county in a direction of cooperation. The competitiveness is very real. [Still] I think there’s a unique opportunity to get all the players together in one room. Sutter, Kaiser, JPA, Health Center, and county. If we keep just carving each other up, we’re going to be doing the public a disservice.”
Boerum concluded the meeting saying, “The community has spoken that they want a hospital and we’re going to keep working on keeping this hospital open and keeping on serving the community.”