Posted on 06/25/2005 5:38:13 PM PDT by BenLurkin
PALMDALE - The ink was hardly dry on Wednesday's 5-4 Supreme Court decision widening community powers of eminent domain when Mayor Jim Ledford and the City Council found themselves confronted over the site where construction has begun for a new Valley hospital. Council members will meet Monday night in closed session to discuss a threatened eminent-domain action brought by the Antelope Valley Healthcare District to seize a 30-acre parcel southeast of Palmdale Boulevard and Tierra Subida where a private hospital would be built by Universal Health Services of Pennsylvania. Palmdale and the city's Community Redevelopment Agency share a stake in that property.
The district "made some sort of an offer" to Palmdale in an attempt to acquire the land in question, said Michael Adams, the city's housing manager.
"About two weeks ago, Antelope Valley Healthcare made an offer of $9.3 million" to Palmdale, said Jackie Weder, a spokeswoman for Antelope Valley Hospital. "We are now waiting to hear from the city of Palmdale (as) to what the answer is."
Weder referred to eminent domain as "a discussion alternative. It's not something we're doing at this point. It's an option. No decision has been made."
Weder said once the health-care district hears Palmdale's response, then they'll "take it from there and see what (their) next steps will be."
Adams said the offer is a legal formality that must be carried out prior to instituting an eminent-domain action. It's supposed to be a "good faith attempt to acquire the property under regular negotiations."
"The staff does not believe it is a valid offer," said assistant city manager Carol Seidl.
Adams confirmed the health-care district's offer amounts to $9.3 million, an amount cited in a letter by hospital CEO Les Wong to AV Hospital employees.
On Friday morning, Ledford said the city has invested "a sizable amount of money" in the site - $13.5 million.
In a letter to Antelope Valley Healthcare District employees on June 16 - two weeks after ground was broken for the UHS hospital - AV Hospital CEO Les Wong wrote, "There is a fundamental difference between the goals of UHS and AVHD.
"As you know, AVHD works to serve all of our Valley residents. We have a moral obligation to provide health care to all the residents of this Valley."
In the letter, posed in question-and-answer format, the question was posed, "How can the district afford to pay $9.3 million for land in the midst of service cutbacks and layoffs?"
The answer given in the letter was, "The money that is being used to purchase the land can only be used for 'bricks and mortar' and not for salaries or services. However, this money will eventually translate into more jobs and services as we staff the new hospital."
The letter from Wong said, "As you may be aware, the district is moving forward with plans to build a new hospital on the west side of Palmdale in the very near future."
Approval of plans for hospital construction typically takes a number of years and requires various levels of state review and approval. Such plans have yet to be prepared or submitted by the AV Healthcare District.
According to UHS officials, processes to get the Palmdale UHS facility approved took nearly five years, and a new entity would have to undergo a similar process.
Wong's letter posed the question, "If this is a loan, how is the district going to pay for it?"
The answer in the letter was, "We believe that adding the new hospital will make our health care delivery system more efficient and enable us to expand revenue generating specialty health-care services while continuing to provide quality services to all Antelope Valley residents."
Palmdale city officials proceeded with a groundbreaking at the hospital site on June 2; construction is currently under way on infrastructure including installing utility lines and roadway grading, Adams said.
"At this point, the city is operating under the assumption that we are building the hospital with Universal Health Services," Adams said.
Not only do city officials consider the offer from the health-care district "wholly inadequate," but they think the action "may cause the loss of, or a substantial delay in, a new hospital facility in Palmdale," resulting in detrimental health and safety consequences for all south Antelope Valley residents.
Potential litigation by the health-care district "threatens to compromise Palmdale Housing Authority funding, impair contracts by both the city and CRA and adversely affect multiple bond repayments," city officials contend.
Ledford said the action certainly poses a threat.
"When there's a threat, the attorneys are going to engage and cover every angle. Bottom line: I believe Antelope Valley residents are owed a plan," the mayor said. "What's the plan here?"
Ledford said the move by the health-care district has plunged the hospital project into uncertainty and mixed emotions.
They're "holding the patrons of the system hostage. That's not right," the mayor said. "The public is really the missing element here."
Ledford accused the health-care district of moving forward without seeking public input.
Something has to be done about this socialist, anti-American nonsense.
Love these Gov. on Gov. fights until I realize that the taxpayer gets a double 'bend over' from the attorneys.
Hospitals stand on prime real estate virtually everywhere in
the nation. The possibilities are endless...eeesh.
So do private Christian schools and churches.....
Brace yourselves mateys. The wind has hardly started to pick up yet. Of course if you are fortunate to live in an area that could not be bulldozed into parking lots and shopping centers guess you can rest easy. I saw this very thing happen some 15 years back just north of Allentown PA. Nothing the owner could do, but finally sell out their large farm. So that a strip mall could be put in. It has been going on a lot more then we tend to realize.
Churches may be exempt per SCOTUS.
Oh goody, add discrimination to this commie decison.
Why do I take so little comfort in such statements?
The Supreme Court once again is trying to do what only the Congress is allowed to do, which is make laws. Congress is given the authority in America to make law, not the Supreme Court. Please remember, if we are going to make our voices heard regarding this pathetic attempt by that limp wristed court to tell everyone how it is going to be, the time is now to contact your congressman or congresswoman and tell them to back off! The Supreme Court can scream and holler all they want, but it's up to the Congress to make a law out of this. Just because the Supreme Court hands up a verdict does NOT MEAN IT IS LAW. We must not forget this. They give their opinion on a matter and sadly most people take it to mean it is now law.
Just because the Supreme Court has an opinion does not mean it is the law now. The Congress, along with the Senate and the Executive branch, all have to ultimately agree in the end to create a "new" law. The Supreme Court simply does NOT HAVE THAT AUTHORITY, that is how our system works. And it is needful at this time to remind the lawmakers, the Congress in Washington DC that this opinion, this interpretation by the Supreme Court is very much Unconstitutional.
Then inform your congressman that they better NOT pass a law that backs up the courts opinion. If they do, tell em they just lost your vote and your neighbors vote as well. Call your congressman and tell him what the score really is.
The Mafia stands to make a mint on the SCOTUS decision. After all they are the ones with all the experience in extortion, bribing public officials, rackateering, etc. Soon they will be making you an offer you can't refuse.
1 mil an acre seems like a lot to me in that God forsaken place known as Palmdale.
I really, really hope a use can be found for the land the houses of these Supreme Court justices live on. Let's just see how hard they fight to keep their homes. I know that will never happen but I can dream.
The mafia and the dnc!
Oh it is the law alright -- for better or worse.
Agreed that it is not legislation, but a U.S. Supreme Court decision is going to be followed in every Federal Court and in State Courts as well depending on the posture of the specific cases.
Smile when you say that partner.
You are correct, and those people who work on the various courts are our neighbors, so we need to remind them, they take our homes, we take theirs as well. Seems the communist supreme court wants to start a fight maybe.
This is what happens to a nation when they no longer teach THE CHILDREN IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, in an indepth fashion what OUR nations Constitution is all about. When the people of the nation (not all people) but some, don't understand what their nation is all about, you get chaos and corruption at every level.
When your local city official makes a move to grab a home, land, or some other form of property, make note of it and the next time around when he or she runs for office, KICK EM IN THE ASS AND TELL THEM TO GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS LAND!
Let's just cut to the chase here. Ok mighty supreme court of the United States of America, fine, you cast your opinion, big deal. Now let's see you make us enforce it!
Any city official, state official, county official and any other elected official from Oregon to Florida, from Maine to California, from Montana to Texas, any one of you make a move to grab "land" from us, be ready for one hell of a major ass kicking, you've pissed us off for so long, you are getting ready to be the number one guest at your own barbeque. Make a grab for some land, I hope to God Americans across this land do the courageous thing and kick the land grabber in the ass, run him out of town and tell him or her to go bake a cake in Hades!
We don't need you f'n communists in our land and government anymore. If you Mr. or Mrs., or Ms. elected official is in favor of this kind of tyrannical underhanded, heavy handed dealing, to force decent American citizens out of their homes and that in the name of "economic development", get ready for a fight, we've been waiting a very long time for a reason to kick you in the ass and let you know who runs the show here, so go ahead, make our DAY!
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