Mayor John Woods speaks during Tuesday's Town Board chat at Hopewell Baptist Church. Other commissioners, from left, are Rodney Graham, Jim Fuller, Laurie Venzon and Brian Jenest. Connie Wessner was absent. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)
By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net
Opponents of a proposed behavioral health hospital off N.C. 73 in east Davidson on Tuesday argued that the hospital should not be allowed under Davidson’s planning rules and demanded that town commissioners halt the project. But in a tense discussion at an informal “chat” with citizens Tuesday night, town officials said the project is allowed without Town Board action, and “there’s nothing to halt.”
The answer wasn’t what some in the audience at Hopewell Baptist Church fellowship hall were looking for. Earlier in the day, five couples who oppose the hospital had sent a letter to Town Board and Planning Board members seeking a delay in the project and threatening legal action.
Carolinas Healthcare System announced May 9 it plans to build the $36 million, 66-bed behavioral health hospital off N.C. 73/Davidson-Concord Road. CHS plans to buy 23 acres at the former Davidson East site from CommunityOne Bank, which foreclosed on the failed project 2 1/2 years ago. CHS chose the Davidson site after the Huntersville Town Board rejected its plan to build at a site on NC 115.
The discussion came during a 2-hour, no-agenda meeting Tuesday that also included questions about the status of the Red Line Regional Rail Project and MI-Connection Communications System, the local data network that Davidson owns with the town of Mooresville.
Although citizens at Tuesday’s meeting spoke both for and against the hospital, opponents spoke louder and and longer, and challenged town officials. Some opponents came from the River Run neighborhood, while others live next door to the site.
Chris Bradley, of Dembridge Drive in River Run, was among those who signed the letter, and at Tuesday’s meeting he scolded Mayor John Woods for inviting Carolinas Healthcare to look at sites in Davidson. He said he and others are “frustrated” and complained that the town did not follow “due process.”
He argued that zoning for the site does not explicitly mention a hospital as a potential use. And when town officials, citizens and the property owner were debating the rezoning in 2010-11, “hospitals were never brought up in the discussion.”
He also complained that the development won’t contribute to the town’s tax base, since Carolinas HealthCare System is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization. During the rezoning, he said, “There was a huge discussion over maintaining the tax base.” He asked why the town is giving up tax revenue at a time when it has been cutting its budget.
Mr. Bradley said other area towns classify hospitals as “institutional uses,” not as “commercial,” and said Davidson officials should not have interpreted the Davidson ordinance as allowing it.
“This is being shoved down people’s throats,” he said.
HALT THE PROJECT?
He looked at Mayor Woods and other board members, and asked: “Are you going to respond to the document (the letter circulated Tuesday) and are you going to halt all proceedings until you can have a clear presentation of all of the facts, all of the stuff you should have done and had presentable before your had a news conference?”
Mayor Woods said he and commissioners support interpretations by the town attorney and town planning director that the Davidson’s zoning allows the project. The mayor said the town has no role at this point, and is waiting on Carolinas Healthcare System. CHS has said the only steps left are to obtain a revised Certificate of Need from the state and to close on the land deal.
“What’s the hurry?” Mr. Bradley asked.
“We have no hurry,” Mayor Woods replied. He said once Carolinas Healthcare has a site plan to present, possibly in late June, another community meeting with neighbors would be held.
Town officials said no zoning approval is needed and no discussions are going on right now between the town and CHS. So, Mr. Bradley asked, why not halt the project?
“There’s nothing to halt,” Town Attorney Rick Kline said. “What are we halting?”
John Allen pushed the question. “Are you willing to halt it? Yes? No.”
“The answer is no,” Mayor Woods said.
COMMERCIAL INCLUDES HEALTH CARE
The site in question off N.C. 73 falls into a new commercial zoning classification adopted last year called “flex campus”, Brunson Russum, an architect and Davidson Planning Board member, said the town’s definition of “commercial” includes “health care services.” He said the town has no right to reject the project.
Later, Mr. Russum also said that people may have misconceptions about the kind of care the hospital will offer. “These are not the criminally insane. These are not dangerous people to the public,” he said.
Resident Sally Gordon said the town should not allow a non-profit use on the site, and should not commit to a project that might add to the town’s costs. “We need tax revenue,” she said.
Town Manager Leamon Brice said the project may cause only occasional fire or emergency calls and that police calls wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary. He said Police Chief Jeanne Miller had met with CHS security officials, who will have officers at the hospital, and that she doesn’t think the town will need any additional police officers.
Resident Martha Jenkins, whose property adjoins the site and who serves on the planning board, said CHS officials told her the would have two security officers on duty in the daytime and one at night. With up to 66 patients expected, “That’s not much of a ratio,” she said, suggesting the town police would be needed to help maintain security.
He said that while CHS is a non-profit, the project likely would help spur other development nearby, initially by constructing roads and sewer lines into the site. He said the example of other health care facilities shows that additional commercial development could follow, including restaurants and other services to serve the hospital’s anticipated 155 employees.
PROJECT NEEDED
Near the end of the 50-minute discussion, some town officials and citizens in the audience tried to address neighbors’ concerns about the the hospital’s use: for overnight stays by people facing mental illness. Commissioner Rodney Graham noted that the facility was badly needed in Mecklenburg County, and that statistics show that 1 out of 10 people (including those in the room) might need such services.
Commissioner Brian Jenest agreed, and said, “I feel this is very much in keeping with what we want as a town.”
Mayor John Woods acknowledged that he had called CHS officials and urged them to consider sites in Davidson. “I just invited them to come look at Davidson, because I personally am proud that we could offer a site here and as a community embrace the delivery of health care services, whether its mental health care, dermatology, orthopedics, or obstetrics. I don’t care.”
“I understand what that facility is, and I’m not afraid of it,” he said. He urged anyone concerned about the project to visit Carolinas Healthcare System’s other hospital off Randolph Road, which has a park, a school and neighborhoods surrounding it.
Mr. Bradley said he wasn’t against the facility and he agreed it’s needed in Mecklenburg County. But he objected to the mayor’s decision to contact CHS in the first place and to seek a nonprofit, tax exempt project. He said, “It’s about fiscal responsibility.”
Commissioner Laurie Venzon said she’s been compiling research on the potential economic impact of the hospital. Based on the hospital’s plans to hire 155 workers, she believes other tax revenues from new residents and other development would make up for the lack of revenue from the hospital.
She said to Mr. Bradley: “I’m not ready to run down the path with you that says this is going to be costing the taxpayers money.”
RELATED DOCUMENTS AND LINKS
May 29, 2012, Letter from “Due Process Davidson” to town officials asking for a halt to the CHS project. (PDF) Original signers were: Chris and Tina Bradley, Doug and AC Banez, Jay and Michelle Lewis, Tom and Judy MacDonald, and John and Margo MacQuarrie. [See updated letter with additional signers under comments below.]
May 9, 2012, “Carolinas HealthCare to build psych hospital on NC 73.”
AUDIO REPLAY
Listen to an audio replay of the Tuesday, May 29, 2012, Commissioner Chat at Hopewell Baptist Church. Click the play button to start. Can’t see the player or hear the audio? CLICK HERE>
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(MP3, 1 hour, 57 mins.)
INDEX
0:00 to 13:15 – Welcome by Mayor John Woods and introductions
13:20 – Red Line – Brunson Russum asks for an update on the Red Line, and Mayor Woods responds. He and other commissioners join the discussion, and answer additional questions about the Red Line.
27:40 – MI-Connection – Robert Tremblay compares the rail line to the MI-Connection Communications System, starting a discussion about the status of the town’s investment in the local high-speed network. Commissioner Laurie Venzon, who has been working on improving the agreement with Mooresville and oversight of the system, responds at length.
1:07:20 – Mental hospital – Chris Bradley scolds mayor John Woods, and turns the discussion to the proposed Carolinas HealthCare System mental health hospital on NC 73, saying some neighbors are frustrated about the plan.
1:57:30 – meeting ends
Thanks again to DavidsonNews.net for posting the audio of these events. Without video available from the Town, it’s the only way for citizens to understand what goes on at these meetings if they can not make it in person.
More than half of the meeting actually covered the Red Line and Mi-Connection – equally controversial decisions from past and present. From the tone of the questions and discussion, the Board and residents are still far apart on the soundness of these decisions and the process behind them.
For more commentary on these as well as the CHS discussion check Red Line, Mi-Connection, CHS Mental Health Facility Hot Topics at Commissioner Chat.
I wanted to clarify one thing. My reference to listening to the coverage of meetings as being the only way “to understand what goes on at these meetings” was in no way meant as a criticism of DavidsonNews.net’s coverage of town affairs. Davidson News does a great job of that on a regular basis.
However, since we have a Public Information Officer to the tune of $50,000 per year and a newly updated website, it seems that the Town should be doing the posting of this type of audio and even video for events in Town Hall.
David, thanks again for taking the initiative to post it.
Arguments expressed during the commissioner chat, and in emails and letters circulated by citizens opposed to the CHS behavioral health hospital fall roughly into three categories. First, they feel that it poses a threat. Second, they feel it is fiscally irresponsible. Third, they feel that Davidson’s planning ordinance does not allow this use on this property. I would like to respond to each of these arguments.
Before I address this topic further, I feel it is important to let everyone know that I have never provided services to CHS in the past or present and my company has nothing to do with the proposed behavioral health hospital. I have a 25 year career as a planner, architect, and general contractor with extensive experience designing and building medical facilities. I am also a member of Davidson’s Planning Board and have been involved with many planning efforts in Davidson since I first moved here with my family in 1997.
1. Threat – Emails, letters, and comments during the meeting describe a perceived threat from the patients in the behavioral health hospital. They make comparisons to the VA hospital in Salisbury and to a proposed mental health hospital in High Point. The VA is required take all patients into its facility, including some that may be dangerous to others. The High Point Hospital will house mentally ill patients who are in the criminal justice system. On the other hand, the Certificate Of Need (CON) issued by the state to CHS limits the type of patients that they can receive. This is not a detox unit and they do not treat pedophiles or patients from the criminal justice system. The behavioral health hospital is a short-term stay facility for patients that have issues such as depression, acute anxiety, bi-polar symptoms and the like. These are people we all know. I ask that everyone please try not to further stigmatize our friends, neighbors, and family members that have any of these mental health issues.
2. Fiscally irresponsible – The folks opposed to the hospital indicate that CHS is a not for profit organization and does not pay property taxes, therefore it is fiscally irresponsible to allow it to build on this site. CHS has indicated that the new hospital will provide 155 employees. In a recovering, but still challenging economy, this number of new jobs should be seen as good news. My experiences have shown me that when a hospital of this size is constructed, there are numerous support services that choose to locate nearby. These services are for profit and do pay taxes. One only needs to look at Lake Norman Regional hospital and Presbyterian Huntersville hospital to understand the economic impact that can occur in the surrounding area.
3. Not allowed in Planning Ordinance – Those opposed to the CHS facility say that the planning ordinance does not allow hospitals in this planning area. There is no ambiguity about this issue. Davidson’s Planning Ordinance does allow healthcare services on this site. The property in question is in the “Flex Campus” planning area. Flex Campus allows a number of uses, including those that provide healthcare services. The interim planning manager and the town attorney both say this is an allowed use on this site and I agree with their interpretation. Davidson’s Planning Ordinance allows this type of use by right, meaning the citizens of Davidson discussed, debated, and decided that this type of use was acceptable on this property. The property owner has the right to build this facility on this site and neither the town board nor the planning board has the authority to take away that right.
Rick, I appreciate your comments, but I don’t necessarily assume that the Board and residents are necessarily making decisions contrary to the majority of Town residents. Yes, there are certainly residents who take exception to certain decisions–apparently, many in the audience last night. But these residents of Davidson were elected by a majority of those who voted in the last election, and thus it should be assumed that they have something of a mandate to govern. That means they have to make the challenging decisions the rest of us may not be willing to make.
I know you weren’t focused on that little bit of your posts, and that I’m nit-picking; I apologize to you in advance for that. But I wanted to make sure other readers didn’t assume that all of us think the elected leaders are going their own way, contrary to the wishes of the entire citizenry.
Before Tuesday’s meeting, an anonymous email was sent to dozens of residents urging them speak out against the hospital. It came from an email address labeled “John Smith” and signed “Due Process Davidson.” Chris Bradley told me Tuesday night he and others in his group sent the email under the generic name.
As a resident of Davidson and, secondarily, of River Run, I want to speak out about the ways in which this issue is being discussed. Kudos to Mayor John Woods and team for
1) reaching out to CHS to propose our town as a site for their behavioral health center
2) carrying out their responsibilities as our elected representatives in working through this decision, and
3) openly discussing this project with citizens.
I do not have enough information to judge the intentions behind the “John Smith” email that was sent by Chris Bradley, other than to say that in general, anonymous emails are not a positive way to do business.
Excellent advice in this article about visiting the CHS facility at Randolph Road in Charlotte; I have done so, and I know that any concerns anyone may have would be immediately put to rest after one visit. Maybe that is where the next citizen forum on this topic should be held.
I am proud of our town for our future role as the site of the new CHS facility. This continues to demonstrate our forward-thinking planning and our heart for positive, people-centered change.
Melanie Alexander
Several references were made Tuesday night to a meeting planned by Carolinas Healthcare System to talk about the hospital plan. The meeting is not confirmed yet, but tentatively would be on June 21 at 7 p.m. at River Run Country Club, according to Mickey Pettus of River Run Property Owners Association, who is helping to organize it. Stay tuned for confirmation.
My 10-year old son Marshall has also created a pretend person, in his case “Bob Robinson.” “Bob” sometimes appears at odd moments, such as when my son was almost hit by a golf cart after the Coca-Cola 600. “Dad, that was Bob Robinson driving that cart,” Marshall said very dryly.
“Bob” also is an explanation as to why things can’t be found around the house, or why the floor in his room is littered with socks. “Looks like Bob Robinson took the socks out of my drawer again.”
“Bob” has become part of my experience as a father and I’ll miss him when Marshall grows up.
Amen, Melanie. I moved to Davidson partly because I felt strongly that it would be a NIMBY-free town, which it has been for the most part. Let’s hope Mr. Bradley is the vocal minority.
On Tuesday June 29th, a Google account was created with the address dueprocessdavidson@gmail.com. This was created in an effort to communicate various events and meetings surrounding the CHS proposed facility and, yes, our opposition to the project. It was and is intended to be monitored by more than one person in this group. Google policy dictates that a name must be associated with an account and prohibits the use of a company or cause as the name. Since there was going to be more than a single person using the account, we chose a generic name John Smith. The following email went out to EXACTLY FOUR people who had previously posted comments on this site or in local papers OPPOSING the facility:
Dear Citizen:
You are receiving this email because you have written letters or posted comments that indicate you have concern over the proposed CHS facility in Davidson East. There is a growing group of citizens that share your concern. The only way these concerns will be heard is, for those that feel further discussion and closer examination of the impact of this facility are needed, choose to speak up. If you would like to be heard, you can do the following:
1. Respond to this email and indicate your displeasure in the process and ask to see the document that was recently sent to the Town Leaders requesting the project be put on immediate hold.
2. Visit http://www.facebook.com/dueprocessdavidson and like the page in order to be kept current on all issues regarding this project.
3. Attend the Commissioners chat tonight, Tuesday May29th, 6:00pm at Hopewell Baptist Church in Davidson and ask your elected officials some tough questions.
Thank You in Advance for Your Support,
Due Process Davidson
The four recipients email were put in the BCC field so as to respect them in case they did not wish to be included with the group. If this got forwarded multiple times I cannot say but this was the ONLY email sent out from this address and certainly not to dozens. Since the email address was signed Due Process Davidson, the Facebook page referenced was Due Process Davidson and a signed document was made public earlier that morning with Due Process Davidson there was clearly no effort to be anonymous. When David Boraks asked me about the email I immediately told him it was from our group. There was no effort to create a pretend person. If this did in fact turn into dozens of emails through forwarding then one might ask did the tone of the email find some with a common belief?
I hope this clears things up on this particular issue.
Chris Bradley
The group “Due Process Davidson” has updated its letter to Davidson Town officials, adding several names. As of Wednesday night, signers were:
Due Process Davidson Leadership
Chris and Tina Bradley
Doug and AC Banez
Jay and Michelle Lewis
Tom and Judy MacDonald
John and Margo MacQuarrie
JD and Melissa Gibbs
Mark and Donna Ippolito
Download an updated copy of the letter (PDF), http://www.davidsonnews.net/documents/2012/052912DueProcessLetter-REVISED.pdf
Regarding the benefits to Davidson from 155 jobs. The hospital is less than a mile from many new developments in Cabarrus County where property taxes are lower. Probably the substantial majority of the jobs will be nursing assistants and other lower paying healthcare system jobs who will more likely afford to live in Cabarrus. Cabarrus will likely be grateful.
Specifically what additional taxable development is contemplated? Gas station convenience store? Fast food chains? A big stand-alone chain pharmacy? CHS plans a medical office building for the site. That should be a commercial operation, NOT tax exempt because CHS builds it.
Is Concord Road ready for another 1,000 or so car trips a day in that area? What happens during Renaissance Festival weekends when Concord Road is so backed up for miles in that area that Bradford Store has to close. As usual, Mecklenburg County is building up with woefully insufficient roads. It took me 1 hr. 15 minutes to drive from Mallard Creek to Davidson this week because of commercial-residential build-up mostly on 2-lane country roads built 75-100 years ago that now must handle 10,000+ vehicle trips.
Development is supposed to mean progress, but this seems to perpetuate the same idiotic checkerboard development pattern Mecklenburg County has always done, and Davidson tried to avoid with its first land plan.
There are several in-fill spots in downtown Davidson that could accommodate a sorely-needed 66 bed facility. To me, it is a scandal that it is being plopped in the middle of a farm field, accessible only by car on a small, frequently over-crowded country road, and the best thing our local officials can come up with is “maybe it will spur further development,” which means more sprawl, more traffic lights, turn lanes, car wrecks, light pollution, air pollution, imported gasoline, etc. It is the poster child of bad planning.
Town administrators, why not encourage building in town where such a facility would thrive by being accessible to mass transit, existing business who could use some help, and be close to the ones who need these services–people, and not Grier Bradford’s cows?
On the fiscal responsibility point, the Town does have the opportunity to ask CHS for a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) request to help cover the cost of services to the facility. I asked about this at the last Board meeting, and Mr Russum also asked about it on Tuesday.
Both times, the answer was that Davidson had no intention of asking for such a payment.
If this facility was taxable it would bring in roughly $126k in taxes, or three quarters of one cent on our current tax rate. Using numbers thrown out as part of the Red Line discussion, this facility will cost the town 45% of every potential dollar not collected. Roughly, $57,000 per year.
There is precedent for this type of PILOT request both locally (Davidson College and The Pines) as well as nationally for both this type and size of non-profit entity.
Also, at Tuesday’s meeting it was indicated that detailed cost analysis based on sound assumptions was not completed prior to pursuing CHS.
Overall, the project may be good financially, or it may not. Additional development related to the facility may come, or it may not. This may generate more residents for Davidson, or it may not.
What we do know for sure, is that the Town has indicated repeatedly that it will not ask for funds that it could certainly justify to service a facility that has had difficulty finding a location – a facility that should certainly be open to such a request. It is hard to see how that is fiscally responsible for a town in Davidson’s fiscal condition.
It seems given recent tragic suicidal events in Davidson and Huntersville we would embrace the opportunity to help those with mental health needs and hopefully prevent the further suffering of our neighbors. I am also wondering where this public outcry for fiscal responsibility was years ago when the town decided to sink millions into MI-Connection?
Best Regards – Cynthia Mitchell
The Book of Isaiah says: “Fear you not; for I am with you: be not dismayed; for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.” (Isaiah 41:10) If we are created in the image of God as it says in Genesis 1:27, then we have a responsibility to act in Godly ways in our world. We must strengthen, help and uphold our fellow human beings.
The stigma attached to mental illness, and the discrimination against the 25 percent of people who at some point confront that challenge cannot be allowed to defeat our responsibility to our fellow human beings. We should be proud that the our town is doing its part to make the world better; to partner with God in making people whole.
Some argue that this facility would somehow put our community at risk. A more reasonable approach and investigation of the reality of mental health and this type of facility paints a very different picture.
I posit that if this facility is NOT built, we will be contributing to the destruction of families and communities.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older (about 1 in 4 adults) suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year which interferes with employment, school attendance, or daily life. No one is immune from mental illness…Depression affects 14.8 million Americans, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. adult population every year.
Mental illness has devastating effects on families. More than 90 percent of people who commit suicide have a diagnosable mental disorder, most commonly a depressive disorder or a substance abuse disorder. Mental illness results in lost employment, reduced productivity, criminal activity, and vehicular accidents. Mental illness is clearly an issue that deserves and requires our attention.
A mental health facility therefore would serve to strengthen our families, reduce longer term financial costs of mental illness, reduce crime and hardship for individuals and the communities in which they live, and much much more.
While the stigma of mental illness may scare us, this should not stop us from “loving our neighbor as our self,” treating our fellow souls with compassion and care, and dealing with the realities of mental illness in our community. Currently, residents of Davidson have to travel all the way down to the behavioral health center on Randolph Road. I assume many do not get the help they need because of that distance.
A colleague of mine said that one of our obligations is to “advocate on behalf of all those around the world who struggle with mental illness and work toward the day when every individual has the support and resources they need to realize their full potential.” (Barbara Weinstein, Legislative Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism) This notion is prevalent in virtually all faiths and transcends faith.
Blessings,
Rabbi Michael Shields
Michael Shields is a rabbi with the Lake Norman Jewish Congregation
Who would have thought that a mental hospital in Davidson would create such a stir? Anyone watching Huntersville’s near riot about the CHS proposal should have had a clue. The question has to be asked, why didn’t our town leaders take the lessons from Huntersville’s experience, evaluate the impact on Davidson, calculate the costs, and negotiate some benefits to Davidson for this regional need? The answer to those questions is the same as it has been for our other major blunders – Leadership. In this case, the Mayor determined that he wanted the CHS facility here.
Other jurisdictions thought of this as well but this is a controversial project and they took a little more time to talk about it. That is exactly what our Town Commissioners should have demanded of our Mayor. Our town leaders should have sat down and implemented a plan and ensured this regional need did not place any more burdens on the taxpayers of Davidson. They did not.
No matter how much we want to spin the zoning, the “By-Right” was an interpretation of convenience. The Mayor could have just as easily interpreted it to exclude the hospital and make it conditional and addressed the need for fire, police, and EMS without burdening the Davidson taxpayer. A few of my colleagues on the Planning Board will disagree but my observation and experience tell me different.
I have been involved in planning issues for thirty years and on the Davidson Planning Board for the last three. My experience is that every jurisdiction addresses such facilities as a separate “allowed use.” The Davidson ordinance says “hospitals” are only allowed in one zoning area – College Campus. In helping write the Flex Campus Zoning ordinance where this CHS facility will go, we were firmly guided by Mayor Woods and the Town staff to promote only tax generating businesses. In fact there were rumors of a private school or mega church wanting to buy some of this property (both non-tax generating entities) and the town quickly introduced a 5 acre maximum for such property. We didn’t want to be called anti-church or education! We just wanted tax generating property. That was the vision and a “Commercial” use was included as “By right.” A medical office would qualify – a non-tax generating hospital would not. Every other jurisdiction I am aware of makes that distinction. I know because I have a health care facility in Huntersville and I could not build a hospital on my property. Huntersville has conditional zoning for such institutions.
So once again, our town is needlessly embroiled in controversy. I think a lawsuit based on the planning interpretation could slow or stop the needed mental health facility for our area. If our town leaders would have done this with more deliberation and thought, we could have it all. Maybe we still can.
Outside reading: June 1, 2012, Lake Norman Citizen: “The few, the loud, the NIMBYs roar in Davidson.”
The Town of Davidson is a financial disaster, with the highest tax rates in the area and finding it increasingly difficult to offer basic services. It is desperate to generate new sources of tax revenues, and is publicly committed to developing more commercial property.
So, what has the Town done? Rezone the Davidson East property to make it more difficult to develop. Then, in response to a law suit from the property owner, broker a deal to sell 23 of the 170 acre plot to CHS so a non-profit, non-taxable mental health facility could be built. The Town maintains that this facility will kick start development in Davidson by bringing in 155 jobs and development associated with the hospital.
I am not arguing against the concept of a mental health facility. Mayor Woods and some other Commissioners are passionate in the belief that Davidson owes it to the community at large to provide this facility, and there are certainly many in the community who agree with them.
One does has to ask why CHS would want to locate their proposed facility in the far northeast corner of the county with no mass transit and narrow, heavily trafficked roads rather than in a more convenient location. One also has to ask why they need 23 acres to house a 60,000 sq ft building. Somehow that doesn’t make much sense.
In any event there are serious problems with the argument that the project will offer great benefits from an economic development perspective, especially in the Davidson East property. The economic development argument seems to revolve around:
Unfortunately,
Most of the workers will not live in Davidson but will live in Cabarrus County and they will spend their paychecks in Cabarrus County. Cabarrus County is a much more attractive place to live for middle income hospital workers because Cabarrus taxes are a fraction of Davidson taxes.
Hospital workers are shift workers with very short lunch breaks, and will not generate business for small restaurants or businesses because they will take advantage of the low cost, healthy meals available in the cafeteria and stay on campus for the lunch period.
Hospitals are multi-shift operations so there are never 155 workers on site during the normal operating hours of small businesses.
The small mental health facility will not attract any commercial development. It just doesn’t offer much to build upon.
Importantly, Davidson East is not accessible via mass transit. This means workers and visitors to the facility will be forced to drive along narrow overcrowded roads.
Another problem is that the Davidson East location is in the very far north eastern quadrant of the county and is not a convenient location for patients or visitors. The CHS facility is apparently intended to serve the northern part of the county but the Davidson East location just isn’t very convenient.
Lastly, and very importantly, it takes 23 acres of taxable land off the tax rolls. This will result in the loss of perhaps a million dollars of tax revenue over the next ten years. Davidson needs that tax revenue.
So, there is no economic argument to be made in favor of the CHS facility at Davidson East.
My argument is not against the CHS facility. I do argue, however, that the Davidson East property is not be the best location from an economic development perspective and that there are at least two existing areas presently under development in Davidson that offer far better alternatives both on the basis of economic development, and on the basis of being far more convenient to the community.
The first location is in the northwest quadrant of the intersection of I-77 and Griffith St, across the street from the Harris Teeter plaza. There is sufficient land for the proposed facility and there is adequate mass transit, and it is convenient to the interstate. There is even relatively affordable housing conveniently near by which might encourage workers to live in Davidson. The Harris Teeter complex already has several small restaurants and shops that, reportedly, don’t have enough traffic, and where the developer may be in financial difficulty. So, locating the hospital there could give a boost to an area that threatens to become blight with shuttered stores.
The second location that is certainly worthy of consideration is in downtown Davidson itself, and is associated with the proposed Station Area development. Here’s a location that offers mass transit (appealing to Red Line supporters); convenience to existing stores and restaurants; and a genuine potential for development into a cluster of medical offices very convenient for Davidson residents. Currently, there really isn’t much in the way of medical offices in the heart of Davidson and a medical complex would be highly desirable.
So, if the hospital is desirable, I believe the Town should exercise its influence to see if CHS might be persuaded to consider alternative locations to Davidson East. It’s certainly much more attractive from an economic perspective, and zoning is not a problem in either of the suggested locations as the Town seemingly can either change zoning or change their interpretation of zoning on a moments notice.
Tom MacDonald
Davidson
With regard to some of the commentary on this thread I submit the following;
With all due respect to Mr. Berger it is naive to believe that those we elect always have our best interests at heart … surely in today’s political environment you can look at any level of government to find those that have turned their backs on the very people that put them in office. A good example of this is how town leadership took Davidson East from a well planned subdivision built among rolling hills to a mental health facility without due process and a public forum. This is not a minor change but a massive overhaul to planned development and the lack of process here is a major failure by our elected officials. You can draw your own conclusions on how this happened but to some of us it seems peculiar at best.
In regard to Ms. Alexander’s note of her visit to the Randolph Road facility … please be aware that Huntersville [homeowners] shared with us a very specific report from the a Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department showing that in a 12 month period there were more than 580 calls to the police seeking their assistance. These calls ranged from minor to criminal activity and if this facility is a model of what we should expect then I say “no thanks.” I have no desire to have a facility in Davidson that mandates this much attention from the police and this is not a burden Davidson should be willing to take. There is an inherent security risk factor here that cannot be denied and should not be welcomed.
Mr. Maier raises an excellent point … if town leadership mandates that we must have this facility why not build this in Davidson proper so the local citizens have close access to their services. In addition our Main Street businesses can enjoy the benefit of 155 employees of this center spending their income dollars locally. There is ample land behind the USPO where the empty warehouse serves as a lonely discount furniture outlet or behind the Davidson Medical Clinic at Griffith and I-77.
To those ignoring the fiscal irresponsibility of this decision and embracing this blunder I ask that you seek out more information. There is so much more to learn on Davidson’s cost of hosting this facility, services, and infrastructure that surely must exist and has yet to be shared by our town leadership. If not complete then it is an even scarier proposition that proper due diligence has not been completed prior to making this decision. Why do we seek to burden ourselves with more debt by providing the services required? Why do we choose to give away prime taxable development? Why do we seek to do this on our own without help from our neighbors who most certainly will populate this facility? The language from CHS presents this as a “regional resource” … if this is to be the case then we should not accept this burden alone but reach out to Charlotte, Huntersville, Concord and Cornelius, etc for shared funding.
Mr. Short asks a very critical question and it is one that Mayor Woods must be held accountable to … why would we not request the PILOT payment?
One of the local papers reported that this facility will be built to expand … so 66 beds becomes how many beds … and will CHS guarantee that it will always be a short stay facility for minor mental health issues, will never house detox patients or criminally insane patients … of course they won’t as it will be a future business decision with no regard for their original mandate.
Far too many questions and issues remain unanswered by our town leadership and until there is a complete and open dialog this project must be put on hold as many have requested.
We wanted to give Carolinas Healthcare System a chance to comment on those crime stats from the Randolph facility. We’re still waiting for a formal reply, but spokesman Phil Whitesell says:
“We did an analysis of all the crime reports during the Huntersville process. Short version: The vast majority of those reports were NOT at CMC-Randolph but police reports reflecting the same block number, where there’s a bus stop, other parking lots, etc.”
He has promised to provide the full analysis … We’ll have more details when we get it …
With respect to Mr. Lewis, to make the statement that ‘there is an inherent security risk factor here that cannot be denied and should not be welcomed’ is presumptive and without merit. To out-of-hand correlate the number of police calls to a security risk at CMC Randolph is jumping to conclusions, and/or using data to support one’s position without proper analysis of cause and effect. I do continue to maintain that visiting the Randolph facility would be educational for anyone with an interest in this issue.
I would like to respond to the individual who stated, “I moved to Davidson partly because I felt strongly that it would be a NIMBY-free town…”
I do not live near the proposed mental health facility. However, I think it is ridiculous and immature to dismiss the serious concerns raised by our fellow Davidson residents who would be close neighbors of this facility by insulting name calling. Our elected officials are supposed to be representing them and should be, and hopefully are, listening and responding to their concerns.
Our leaders first responsibility should always be the well being of the citizens they are elected to represent. Also, let’s not play the game of labeling anyone against this facility as being “afraid” or “insensitive to the needs of the mentally ill.”
These are just tactics to shut up those that want an open evaluation of the merits and pitfalls of this project. Those living closest to the proposed development should especially be heard as they will be more effected than others.
Diane, I am that individual, though I’m not the only one (see David’s link above to an article characterizing this as “nimby-ism” too). Not sure how this is insulting name calling, just an opinion. Back to the matter at hand. Ask yourself this: if this were a non-profit private school, would we even be having this discussion?
Organizers have now scheduled the community meeting with CHS for June 28 at River Run. http://davidsonnews.net/blog/2012/06/16/meeting-on-hospital-now-scheduled-june-28-at-river-run/
Here’s another chance to hear about the plans for the hospital, with Carolinas HealthCare System officials: The Lake Norman Chamber’s Focus Friday issues forum on Friday, June 22, 8 a.m. http://davidsonnews.net/blog/2012/06/21/chamber-focus-friday-looks-at-plan-for-nc-73-mental-hospital/