Chautauqua County Home in Dunkirk, NY.

MAYVILLE – The effort to sell the Chautauqua County Home will resume in early February.

On Wednesday, both Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan and Legislature Chairman Jay Gould confirmed for WRFA that a special meeting involving a prospective buyer for the home will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 5 in the legislative chambers. However, neither would offer any details, including the name of the potential buyer or the asking price. All that was confirmed is that the meeting would take place on Feb. 5 and it would involve introducing the buyer to the legislature. No formal action would be taken.

Last year, there were three unsuccessful attempts to sell the county home. Twice to Altitude Health Services of Chicago and once to VestraCare of New York. Each time the sale failed by a narrow margin. This year, there is a new legislature in place. Should a proposed sale go before lawmakers, it would need at least 13 votes in order to be approved.

Last week on WRFA’s Community Matters program, Horrigan said that he would anticipate a proposal to sell the home would go before the legislature by the end of this year.

Chautauqua County Home in Dunkirk, NY.

MAYVILLE – The Chautauqua County Legislature will be meting for the third time this month when it convenes tonight in the legislative chambers in Mayville. At issue is whether or not to sell the Chautauqua County Home in Dunkirk to VestraCare at a cost of $16.5 Million.

On October 9, lawmakers held a special meeting to meet with and question officials from VestraCare, including co-owner Edward Farbenblum. Tonight, the legislature will allow the public to comment on the proposed sale. Following public comment, a vote will take place.

County legislature chairman Jay Gould (R-Ashville) says he’s expecting a large turnout tonight from residents interested in offering their thoughts on the sale of the skilled nursing facility, meaning it could make for a long meeting.

“I haven’t let the public speak much on this subject yet,” Gould told reporters on Oct. 23, “So I assume they will be here in droves. And if it goes to 11 o’clock it goes to 11 o’clock. They’ve got to have their say. I fully understand that.”

Tonight will be the third attempt by the legislature to vote on selling the county home. It failed the two previous times in January and February, when a proposal came forward to sell the home to Altitude Health Services of Chicago. The vote in January was 16 to 9 against selling the home, which was one vote-short of 17 votes that are required to sell a piece of county-owned property.

Tonight’s meeting begins at 6:30 in the legislative chambers and is open to the public.

Representatives from VestraCare spent nearly two hours meeting with Chautauqua County Lawmakers on Oct. 9, 2013 to answer questions and provide details on their interest in purchasing the Chautauqua County Home. From left to right: Cookie Travis, Admissions Director of Golden Hill Nursing Home; Hector Rodriguez, Golden Hill Community Relations Director; Jaqueline Sylvia, Golden Hill Chief Administrator; and Edward Farbenblum, VestraCare co-owner. (Photo by WRFA)

MAYVILLE – It was a long and at times confrontational special meeting of the Chautauqua County Legislature last night in Mayville as lawmakers met with the latest prospective buyers of the Chautauqua County Home.

Four representatives of VestraCare – including co-owner Edward Farbenblum – sat before the legislature and answered more than two dozen questions regarding their interest in buy the skilled nursing facility in Dunkirk at a cost of $16.5 million.

• VIEW COUNTY HOME PROPOSED PURCHASE CONTRACT FROM VESTRACARE (59 PAGES)

Lawmakers were especially interested in what VestraCare’s immediate and long-term plans would be for the home, including what services they would offer and what type of staffing they would provide for patients in their care. Officials with VestraCare explained that they would like to eventually expand services that would include a medical daycare facility as well as a provide homecare services.

Administrator Jaqueline Syliva – who is the head of VestraCare’s Golden Hill skilled nursing facility in Ulster County, NY – said that they would most like expand the number of nurses they have on staff at the facility. And both Sylvia and Farbenblum explained the company’s hiring practices, saying they would interview all current staff of the county home and work toward hiring those individuals, prior to going out and seeking other candidates. They also said wages would be similar to what is currently being offered, but could not make any guarantee that they could match the current benefits.

Oct. 30 decision deadline too soon?

One of the main issues of concern that was brought up by some lawmakers was the timeline given for the legislature to act on the sale. Under the submitted contract, VestraCare is requesting the county act on the contract by Oct. 30.

However, legislators Billy Coughlin (D-Fredonia), Bob Whitney (D-Jamestown) and Chuck Nazarro (D-Jamestown) questioned the date, saying they felt more time would be needed.

Coughlin was especially confrontational with the buyers, questioning their past history with other facilities and alleging they did not have strong oversight with some companies they subcontracted for certain services. He also said he wanted more time to investigate VestraCare.

Twenty of the 25 legislators were in attendance for the Oct. 9 meeting. (Photo by WRFA)

“This is what I’ve been able to come up with in nine days, just nine days,” Coughlin said, pointing to his notes on the company. “This is very difficult for me. I think we need an extension, for our due diligence, to maybe get an answer to some of these things. Real answers.”

Nazarro was also against the deadline, but for a different reason. He felt that it was poor timing, considering a local election was just around the corner and it may led to some legislators voting against the sale.

“I have been on record that I want to see the home privatized to the best buyer,” Nazarro said. “I think that’s a trend your going to see for all the reasons stated. However, I think that putting that October 30 date on there is going to jeopardize the entire process.”

Despite Nazarro’s and Coughlin’s concern with the Oct. 30 deadline, other lawmakers felt that it wasn’t a major issue. Vince Horrigan (R-Bemus Point), Larry Barmore (R-Gerry) and Keith Ahlstrom (D-Dunkirk) all pointed out that lawmakers actually had since the end of August to research the buyers, since that was when they were first introduced to lawmakers.

In addition, legislator Mark Tarbrake (R-Ellicott) said delaying the vote would only result in more money being lost in the long-run.

“The problem with postponing the vote, is the fact that we’re losing money on this facility every single day,” Tarbrake said. “I agree with what Mr. Ahlstrom said. He’s got a lot of wisdom here and he’s served on this body for a long time. We’re here to serve our constituents and if you can’t vote now with your conscience, then there’s a problem. I don’t think we should postpone the vote. I think it is important for the citizens of this county.”

Waiting to vote could be a gamble

Farbenblum said that he would prefer the legislature stick with the Oct. 30 deadline since that was what was agreed to during negotiations. After the meeting, WRFA asked him what would happen should the legislature vote against the sale on Oct. 30, which is a likely scenario. One of the options is that another vote could come forward later this year or even early next year, although Farbenblum said he can’t guarantee VestraCare would still be interested.

“if it comes to it, I’ll play the waiting game, but I can’t promise that I’ll be here,” Farbenblum said. “I will tell you that there are two county facilities for sale right now that we are interested in and it’s going to be this one or that one at the end of the day. And if that one turns into a sure thing, I can’t say ‘no’ because this one is a maybe.”

The legislature is expected to act on the sale of the home on during a special voting session on Oct. 30. A total of 17 ‘yes’ votes would be required in order for the sale to go through. In January of this year, the legislature voted 16 to 9 in favor of selling the home to Altitude Health Services of Chicago – which was one vote short of the required 17. A second attempt in February to sell to Altitude Health Services also failed.

In all, the special meeting lasted an hour and 45 minutes. A total of 20 legislators were in attendance, with Bob Duff (I-Sheridan), Shaun Heenan (D-Fredonia), Bob Stewart (R-Conewango), Lori Cornell (D-Jamestown) and Tim Hoyer (D-Jamestown) all absent – although Farbenblum said that both Cornell and Hoyer have been in contact with him to ask questions about VestraCare.

On Wednesday, Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards announced that Richard Platschek is offering to buy the county home at a cost of $16.5 million. That is the same amount that was offered earlier this year by Altitude Health Services, Inc. of Chicago, only to be turned down by the county due to a lack of votes in the legislature.

According to an article in today’s Jamestown Post-Journal, Platschek is making the offer through 10836 Temple Realty LLC and Chautauqua Restorative and Nursing Center LLC. In addition to the purchase offer, there is also a $1.65 million good faith deposit to the county. It also states that the terms of the contract are similar to the ones previously reviewed by the legislature in the offer by Altitude Health Services. To help the legislature better understand his operations, Platschek has invited any legislator to tour his facilities.

The details of the proposal have been passed on to the legislature for its review and lawmakers will most likely begin the process of discussing the sale later this month.

According to an article, Edwards says he has been working over the last couple of months with a company who expressed interest, adding that he is now working to try and finalize terms of a possible sale so that it can then be introduced into the legislature for them to review.

In 2012, the county hired the marketing firm of Marcus & Millichap out of Chicago to help locate a buyer for the home. Earlier this year, an offer had been made by Altitude Health Services of Chicago, but was voted down by the legislature. Altitude Health offered to buy the home at a price of $16.5 million, but that offer failed by one vote in January of this year.

Edwards would not disclose the name of the current prospective buyer, but did say it is a company that had not come forward in the past.

According to Edwards, the latest terms of sale should be finalized in the coming weeks, with the sale of the County Home expected to go before the legislature by the October voting session.

According to an article in Saturday’s Post-Journal, the offer that was submitted by William “Avi” Rothner – the owner of Altitude Health Services Inc. – is no longer being considered. The offer called for purchasing the home at a cost of $16.5 million and also meeting 14 different terms of sale that were laid out by the county legislature.

The article also said that County executive Greg Edwards will again be working with the marketing firm Marcus and Millichap to seek other offers for the home.

The news of Rothner no longer being considered comes after the county legislature twice voted against selling the county home to him. The first vote in January was 16 to 9, while the second vote in February was 15 to 9.

Last night the Chautauqua County Legislature voted 14 to 10 against a proposed local law that would change the way the legislature approves the sale of property. The local law, which was proposed by Majority Leader Larry Barmore (R-Gerry) called for changing the vote that is needed to approve the sale of county property from a two-thirds, super majority to just a simply majority.

Several legislators had their concerns with the law, saying that when it was first put in place over 35 years ago, lawmakers had given it unanimous approval. In addition, Keith Ahlstrom (D-Dunkirk) said that the timing was wrong for even discussing the local law, because lawmakers are currently considering the sale of the County Home…

“There are good times and bad times to do things and in the heat of the battle is not when we should be making this type of decision,” Ahlstrom explained prior to the vote. “Mr. Barmore both in committee and tonight has been very upfront in saying that this change in the local law is to sell the county home, but it also affects many other things that the county owns, and at some point in time we may regret, or our children may regret, that we gave the ability to do this.”

Prior to voting on the local law, lawmakers also discussed at length the sale of the county home for $16.5 million to Altitude Health Services, Inc. of Chicago, owned by William “Avi” Rothner. The resolution contained the same contract and stipulations that were voted down last month by the lawmakers by a vote of 9 to 16 – with a super majority, or 17 votes, being needed. Last night, the sale of the county home was again voted down, this time by a vote of 9 to 15 with legislator Vicki James (D-Jamestown) absent from the meeting.

Last night’s legislature meeting lasted for nearly four-and-a-half hours. The entire first hour of the meeting came from public comment. Of the 26 individuals who spoke, 19 were in support of having the county keep the home or not selling it to Altitude Health Services.

Several also spoke out against the proposed change to the local law.

The meeting was also well attended by 2^nd Amendment advocates who were on hand to show their support for a motion calling for the repeal of the 2013 NY SAFE Act, which puts further restrictions and regulations in place for rifle and gun owners. That motion was the first order of business by the legislature and was approved by a vote of 21 to 3. Despite the vote at the start of the meeting, three individuals still spoke during the public comment criticize the law.

Also discussed at the meeting, was a resolution by legislator Tim Hoyer (D-Jamestown), which called for removing prayer from the start of each monthly voting session and replacing it with the New York State oath of office. Furthermore, it called for the removal the entire Pledge of Allegiance from being said at the start of each voting session. The resolution was defeated 18-5. Voting in support of the resolution were Hoyer, along with legislators William Coughlin (D-Fredonia), Tom Erlandson (D-Frewsburg), Rod Rogers (Green – Forestville) and Bob Whitney (D-Jamestown).

Several key items are on tonight’s legislative agenda, including a controversial local law that would change the way the county sells its property and other assets. Under the proposed law, which is being introduced by majority leader Larry Barmore (R-Gerry), the legislature would only need a simple majority vote to sell county-owned property. Currently a super-majority vote is needed.

The legislature also plans to revisit a resolution that calls for selling the Chautauqua County Home in Dunkirk to Altitude Health Services, Inc. of Chicago for the sum of $16.5 million. That resolution failed by just one vote when it was put up for a vote last month.

Lawmakers will also act on a motion calling on state lawmakers to repeal the 2013 NY SAFE Act, saying it violates a person’s constitution right to own a firearm. A large number of residents are also expected to be in attendance tonight to show their support for the motion prior to it being acted on.

Tonight’s meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the legislative Chamber in Mayville. It is open to the public.

In addition to busy voting agenda, county lawmakers tonight will also hear from County Executive Greg Edwards, who will deliver his 2013 State of the County address.

In this weeks Monday Morning Memo e-newsletter, Edwards said he will use the state of the county to outline accomplishments from 2012 and the challenges the county faces in the current year.

A copy of the 2013 State of the County Address will also be available online later this week at www.co.chautauqua.ny.us/departments/exec.

The proposed local law, which is being sponsored by majority leader Larry Barmore (R-Gerry) and at least 12 other county lawmakers, would change county law so that only a simple majority would be needed to approve the sale of any piece of county property. Currently a two-thirds majority is needed.

The Chautauqua County Home is the primary reason for the local law. Last month, lawmakers voted 16 to 9 in favor of selling the home to Altitude Health Services, Inc. of Chicago. That was one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed.

In response to the vote, Barmore announced earlier this week that he will introduce a local law this month that would change the requirement to only a simple majority. Just 13 votes would be needed to make the change.

• AUDIO: BARMORE – WRFA LOCAL LAW INTERVIEW

However, even if the legislature votes in favor of the local law, it would not go into effect until 60 days after being signed by the county executive. During that time, a petition can be circulated calling for the local law to be put up for a public vote.

Whitney tells WRFA just 1,989 signatures are needed for that petition (five percent of the number of voters in the county who came out for the last gubernatorial election), and he’s confident he would be able to find enough voters throughout the county who are against changing the property sale law to accommodate the sale of the county home.

“I think getting under 2,000 signatures will be really simple,” Whitney said. “All it’s doing is prolonging the real problem until November and the real problem is we need to find a different buyer. We’ve been telling [County Executive] Greg Edwards that since October but he doesn’t want to listen.”

Whitney added that if the change to the property sale law isn’t acted on until November, it will give Edwards the opportunity to find a new buyer. Earlier this week, Whitney went on record saying he is not opposed to selling the county home, he is only opposed to selling it to Altitude Health Services.

Besides the local law making it easier to sell the county home, Whitney says he’s also opposed to it because it would also make it easier to sell any asset owned by the county.

“This law will put all the power into whichever party is in charge, and that’s just not to sell the home. It’s to sell any asset the county has – from the parks to the courthouse to the jail – everything could be sold by the majority party,” Whitney explained. “When [the rule for a two-thirds majority vote] went into effect in 1975, it was unanimous. There was 23 yes votes and two absences that day, it was unanimous to put that into effect and there was a reason they put that in.

“I think there’s a lot more behind this than just selling the county home. I think that’s a smokescreen – the idea they are going to be able to sell the county home. I think they are planning on using that for a lot more,” he concluded.

The proposed local law will go to committee next week for further discussion. It will then move on to the full legislature for a vote on February 27.

On Monday afternoon County Legislator and Majority Leader Larry Barmore (R-Gerry) told WRFA that the legislature will vote on a local law later this month that would change the way county property is approved for sale, making it easier.

The new local law would require a simple-majority vote by the legislature to authorize the sale of any piece of county property – including the County Home in Dunkirk. Is it is currently written, the law requires a super-majority –or 17 out of 25 votes – for any piece of county-owned property to be sold. If Bamore’s local law is approved, then only 13 out of 25 votes would be needed.

The question doesn’t become so much a matter of if  but of when when you consider Barmore’s proposal will have 13 sponsors, all the votes that are needed to pass it through. Once signed by the County Executive, the local law would have to wait 60 days before finally going into effect. So if given the vote will take place on Feb. 27, by April 27 the sale would only need 13 votes.

Barmore also said that with all this given, he’s fairly certain the sale will go to Altitude Health Services, Inc., owned by Avi Rothner. It was just last month that the County Legislature was one vote short of approving the sale to Rothner, at a cost of $16.5 million.

County Executive Greg Edwards – along with several members of the legislature – has been pushing for the sale of the home for nearly two years, saying it is costing the county too much money to remain in operation much longer. But so far, Edwards has been unable to get a the 17 votes needed to approve the sale. With Barmore’s local law, they will now only need to focus on 13 votes.

Barmore’s Local law will go to the legislature’s Administrative Services Committee next week for consideration, before going before the full legislature during it’s monthly voting session on February 27.

More information on this, including comments from Barmore, on Tuesday during the WRFA Morning News Update  at 7, 8 and 9 a.m.