Saying they see a lot of community division, the two Metropolitan Area Planning Commission members who voted against tabling further discussion on Newman Regional Health’s proposed zoning code text changes say their votes were meant to end that division as soon as possible.
Tammy Ogle tells KVOE News her decision made with the thought of getting back to normal as quickly as possible.
Fellow board Monica Duncan says mediation is a good idea with local tensions at a high level. Neither say they can discuss whether they were ready to approve the hospital’s proposal because the conversation is still developing.
Both voted against tabling additional conversations until at least the board’s December meeting. Ray Rogers, Kenton Thomas, Larry Bucklinger, Ken Weaver and Bill Barnes voted to table.
In August, Stormont-Vail Health approached Newman Regional Health with plans for a $30 million medical facility in Emporia. Stormont leadership says the final plans for the different services to be offered locally is still pending, but Newman Regional Health has said it will be an ambulatory surgery center focusing only on certain profitable services — cardiology, cath and gastrointestinal labs, orthopedics and endoscopy — which could lead to upwards of $7 million per year in losses and increased reliance on county tax dollars to stay afloat financially. Tuesday’s lengthy Planning Commission meeting — over four hours on this topic alone — dealt with Newman Regional Health’s proposal to expand the paperwork needed to gain Conditional Use Permits for the Stormont project and similar potential projects down the road.
Stormont leadership is staunchly opposed to the Newman Regional Health proposal.
Once a recommendation, yea or nay, is finalized by the Planning Commission, the Emporia City Commission has the final say. Given recent developments, the earliest a decision could be made will be January.
