LAWRENCE COUNTY Nursing home up for sale

Hill View Manor's population has dropped to 85.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County commissioners have voted 2-1 to market the county nursing home and property.
A crowd of nearly 100 people, most employees of Hill View Manor or family members of residents, asked commissioners Tuesday not to sell the home.
"My 102-year-old mother resides at Hill View Manor. She is very happy and well taken care of. They are all so comfortable there, please don't disrupt them," said Joann DeCarbo of Ellwood City.
Molly Wise, a Hill View employee for 28 years, also asked commissioners not to sell the nursing home, which, she said, brings in $4 million to $5 million a year, plus pays $100,000 in maintenance fees each year to the county.
Testing the market
Commissioners Roger DeCarbo and Brian Burick told the crowd they want to put the nearly 40 acres up for sale to see what the real estate market will bear. The nursing home sits on about two acres.
Both said it is not their intention to close the nursing home, but they would consider a private buyer who wants to continue operating it.
"I would sell Hill View if someone brought in a good plan to build other retail businesses on the property and keep Hill View as a nursing home. It's never been my goal to disrupt the residents or staff," Burick said.
DeCarbo said it is his goal to see some of the property returned to the tax rolls. It is tax exempt because the county owns it.
Patrick O'Toole, superintendent of Shenango School District, in which the property sits, supports efforts to make the land taxable commercial property.
Another Shenango Township resident agreed, saying the county should not be in the nursing home business.
History of property
The land was originally used as a farm for indigent county residents and later became the county nursing home.
Commissioners have had about 20 wooded acres for sale since the early 1990s. Last year a Cleveland company offered to buy that property, but that deal fell through when the company could not get financing.
DeCarbo said the property has been appraised at about $2 million and now it's time to market it.
"We have the opportunity to see what the market will allow. Why are we hoarding 38 acres of land?" he said, noting the number of people in nursing homes throughout the state is down because of stricter government regulations.
Hill View Manor, which has 136 licensed beds, had only 85 residents as of Monday, he said.
A 'no' vote
Commissioner Ed Fosnaught voted against Tuesday's resolution, which authorizes Castle Realty to market the property.
"The best way to make sure we stay in business is to stop this right now," Fosnaught said, adding he thinks the reason the number of residents is down is because commissioners have talked about selling it.