Monday, July 21, 2003
The sale price is much more than the amount the county will actually realize from the sale.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Buyers now want to buy the Lawrence County nursing home and land surrounding it in a two-stage deal.
Sylvan Heights Realty Partners, a group formed specifically to buy the home, Hill View Manor, wants to buy the nursing home and 14 acres of land first and then buy an adjacent, wooded lot later, said George Howley, one of the buyers. The reason for the change is money.
Howley said he was meeting with his attorney Friday to finalize the details of their new offer before presenting it to the county. A previous deal to buy all of the property at once failed when Sylvan Heights' financing fell through.
County Commissioner Roger DeCarbo said he would consider selling the property in parcels if it were proposed.
"Our problem is not with the open land. Our problem is funding the loss at Hill View Manor," DeCarbo said.
Money woes
County commissioners had to transfer $8,300 from the general fund last week to cover employee paychecks, and they authorized administrators to start laying off employees.
Commissioners say a declining number of residents is causing a deficit.
Howley said Sylvan Heights intends to buy the adjacent land sometime before Sept. 30.
The selling price is $1.1 million for the nursing home and 14 acres it sits on. The additional 21 acres of wooded land would sell for $565,000.
But one county commissioner contends the sale price and the cash the county will get from the sale aren't the same.
Commissioner Ed Fosnaught, who has opposed the deal from the start, said he would not agree to sell the property in two stages. He is also opposed to fees the county would pay as part of the deal including giving the buyers $100,000 for a cemetery on the land that the county would retain and another $100,000 for asbestos removal in the building.
"I don't think it's a good deal. I think it would put us deep in debt," he said.
Fosnaught said after all fees are paid from the $1.1 million, the county would end up with only $554,000. He said if the buyer ends up laying off more employees, the county could lose even more money because it doesn't have unemployment insurance.
Issue of benefits
The county would have to pay the entire cost of benefits to laid-off workers, he explained. Laid off workers can collect about half of their regular pay for nine months under Pennsylvania law, Fosnaught said.
Fosnaught said he would like to see a professional firm brought in to evaluate the business and recommend how it should be run.
Also, an additional $50,000 to the county for "good will" will also not be part of the deal, Fosnaught said.
DeCarbo said the money was to be an extra payment on top of the $1.1 million to the county for the nursing home's good reputation and continued operation. However, in light of the problems the county is having at the home he doesn't think the county will ask for the $50,000 payment.
Commissioner Brian Burick was not available Friday for comment.