Long ago the debate over the plans for Med-Care’s new building turned away from why this new building was necessary and why town people should support it. The argument for the building has seemed to center around how towns will financially suffer if they don’t support the building, leaving community members feeling that the cost of the building is being pushed down their throat and without seeing much merit for the building. This has left community members feeling bullied instead of persuaded; a feeling townspeople are bound to react poorly too.
Med-Care’s Board Members have been steadfast in their decision to go forward with plans for a new building despite the rising opposition to the plan. We have yet to hear from any of these board members why they feel so strongly. Instead, Dean Milligan has been the point man, bringing stinging criticism and personal attacks his way.
Dean Milligan is a great paramedic, a wonderful father and a fine citizen. He is now in an unenviable situation and from here it seems that Med-Care’s Board of Directors are content with letting him sit out there in the public spotlight, taking the heat. It seems way past time for Med-Care Board Members to step up to explain why this building is important for our towns. In the absence of that, there is a very good chance Rumford will risk voting down the inter-local agreement also, with ramifications we all can’t be entirely sure of.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
13 comments:
Dean is all the things this article says he is and he has taken a far greater beating then he should have from the beginning. However when people are told what they can or cannot do, like it or not, that is a sure fired way to raise their cackles. And when it's going to hit their pocket-books it's even worse. If the Board had taken these things into consideration from the start and worked with the town's concerns instead of trying to shove it down their throats, I believe there would have been a far diffrent outcome then the one it's looking like now. Med-Care Board members need to step up to the plate and hear the towns wishes and change the things that need changing and work with them for the ultimate goal of a new home for the great people that work for them.
It seems to me that the board for Med-Care ARE thinking of the towns. I have been asking around about the cost of the building, and the response I have gotten the most is "That's not bad for a new building". It doesn't seem like a "want" issue. It seems more like a "need" issue. If they were to move into an existing building, how much would it cost to renovate that building to make it suit the needs of the service? There would be the initial purchace. What would that be? I have read "estimates" of $800,000. Then the cost of renovating. Maybe $500,000? That would be $130,000. Then, every year, there would be something that needs repair, I'm sure. Why not go with the new building and eliminate most of the repairs that will arise almost immediately? In the Sun Journal, a comment was made about the new building indicating that Med-Care wopuld be here for another 30 years. Good perspective. Another thing to think about is where are you going to find a loan for less than 30 years? Even for an older building. So if you are going to get a loan, why not get a new building? And with a grant from the USDA, that only decreases the cost to the towns. I'm no financial or economic expert, but this just seems to make sense to me. Instead of letting close to a half million dollars set outside under tarps.
I think Med-Care does a wonderful job serving our community. I also agree they need a new building. It would be nice to see a compromise that would make both Med-Care and the taxpayers happy. I think the whole upset here is just a matter of people feeling very financially pinched and that this is bad timing from an economic standpoint. It's a shame that our community has so many vacant buildings and none of them can be renovated to accomodate Med-Care at a cost that would be less than that of a new building.
I heard a suggestion today that made sence. Move the office to the Mexico Rec Center and convert the office space to living quarters. Then rent garages from the HOPE association in the armory for the spare ambulances & trailers. This would take care of things until a regional plan is approved by the voters.
So Med-Care should move to the Rec. Center, renovate that, AND rent space in another building for trucks. Is the other building heated adequately? Is it insulated enough to be efficient? And isn't Med-Care the ONLY regionalized service in The River Valley?
Med-Care is the only ambulance service in the River Valley Region. I don't know the status of the other locations, but I can guess that an upgrade would be less than 2.2 million :)
We need a 6 month hold on the inter-local agreement so it can be re-done. That way we won't lose any capability and the Med-care staff will be able to sleep. The building is the real sticking point. It needs to be put out to a vote of the people. Med-care seems to have forgotten that WE own the company, they (the directors) are just there to manage it.
Finally the LSJ article yesterday said Rumford would be voting on June 2nd, I thought they were voting on the 10th. Does anyone know the facts?
I think there is a special meeting on the 2nd to vote on the Med-Care issue.
The Med-Care issue is voted upon at Town Meeting, which is June 2nd. The ballot vote is done on June 10th.
The agreement that formed Med-Care states that they have the authority to make all decisions.
I wonder if the previous Anonymous poster would speak in such a way if he had to sign his/her name to the post?
Post a Comment