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Officials: Sale of nursing home likely
Sale proceeds would be used to pay down the facility’s debt.
MERCER, Pa. — The sale of the financially troubled Woodland Place nursing home is imminent, Mercer County commissioners said.
Commissioner John Lechner said last week the buyer plans to continue uninterrupted operation of the facility as a nursing home. This had been a concern of commissioners who wanted to avoid displacing the residents and avoid the job loss that a closing would entail.
He said the county was in touch with its lawyers Wednesday. “I believe a contract is imminent but not signed yet.” The buyer was not identified.
The county is closely watching the sale as primary mortgage holder for Woodland Place. Lechner said if the facility is sold, the proceeds will be used to reduce the facility’s debt — a debt the county has been forced to assume because a past board of commissioners guaranteed the loan in 2002.
In addition, commissioners have said they plan to pay the debt off at the earliest opportunity allowed by the contract — in 2013 — in order to save millions of dollars.
In any case, the county will be left to shoulder at least $6 million of the debt and with an eye toward that end, it raised county real estate tax by 2 mills for 2009 and earmarked 1 1‚Ñ2 mills for the Woodland Place debt.
A resident attended the commissioners’ meeting to criticize the county for the money it will have to spend to satisfy the debt, stating the county could have spent the money to upgrade equipment for all the local fire departments.
But Lechner replied, “There is no way out. We have to do this.”
He explained that because a previous board of commissioners guaranteed the nursing home’s debt, the current board must come up with the money to satisfy it since Woodland Place is unable to make payments on the bond.
But he said that by paying early and using proceeds from sale of the facility, the county will ultimately pay only $6 million instead of the $15 million it would have to pay by observing the original schedule of loan repayment.
Lechner said the $6 million repayment would include the $2.6 million the county already has made in bond payments.
Lechner said the Woodland Place board of directors — of which he and Commissioner Brian Beader are members — will meet Jan. 22.