Your attention please!

Analytical has posted the portion of the agenda for the 10-17-17 Council Meeting which announces a Public Hearing concerning the zoning change for Kettering Medical Facility after Council’s Executive Session; to be followed by the first reading of two ordinances to change zoning for KMF.

If no one shows up at the Public Hearing to express their approval of the zoning change and the reasons for it … then city hall can rightfully say that the subject appears not to be of importance to the citizens!!! Then they will be likely to bend to Atrium’s and Mr Adkins’ wishes and vote it down.

Speaking up at the Public Hearing is very important to Middletown if you want a hospital that will accept your insurance and serve your needs!!!

See comments in red on Mr Adkins “explanation” of Kettering’s abandoned rezoning request which he posted on City of Middletown Manager’s blog.

Kettering Health Network Rezoning Request

October 17, 2017October 17, 2017City Manager Middletown 1 Comment

There’s been a lot of discussion around town on the benefits and pitfalls of allowing Kettering Health Network to add overnight beds to their facility at the old Reyton Inn site at the I-75 Interchange.

Kettering (KHN) originally came to the city with a plan to build a $30 million outpatient medical facility that offered an Emergency Room and outpatient services. As the project progressed, KHN revisited the original plan and inquired about adding 8-20 beds for overnight stays in space that wasn’t otherwise designated. As it stands now, an outpatient stay is anything less than 23 hours. In order to accommodate that request, a zone change would have to be sought and approved by Planning Commission and subsequently, City Council.

That’s right, our “leaders” have “intentionally crafted zoning ordinance”(according to David Pearce, a former Middletown Regional Hospital board member, said “the zoning was intentionally crafted with the $300 million hospital as the key centerpiece/ stakeholder.”) which split hairs and make it as difficult as possible for anyone to bring in good jobs and healthcare for a majority of the citizens. Every other nearby area would welcome the opportunity to have KHN’s jobs, services and professionals especially if, like Middletown, Atrium was their only choice for healthcare. It would be great to go to a local doctor or hospital that would accept our insurance.

The KHN application for a zoning change went to Planning Commission, and after a long public hearing, the Planning Commission recommended denial of KHN’s zoning request to allow the hospital beds for overnight stays. This had no impact on the original KHN plans for the facility.

The Planning Commission (even after staff recommended approval) recommended denial of KHN’s zoning request. I wonder why?

On the MUSA blog, blogger swohio75 (who seems to be in the know in the city building) says:

“As I said, staff's recommendation was for approval. Assumption is that the City's Planner ran this recommendation up through the chain of command (to Adkins likely) who didn't see an issue with the recommendation.

The decision is now in Council's hands. I can't say why Planning Commission denied, because the Admin has decided that Planning Commission meetings are not necessary to record and broadcast on their YouTube channel as had previously been done.”

This sounds like a complaint from swohio75 that the Planning Commission meetings are no longer recorded or easily available for public view. We need more people to take note that our city government is becoming more unapproachable and unresponsive because more and more government processes are taking place out of public view. What an invitation to run a muck!!

Do you know why the Planning Commission meetings are no longer recorded and broadcast?Adkins’ directive to discontinue YouTube recording of the Planning Commission meetings conveniently keeps meetings and discussions hidden from the citizens. Mr Adkins, ... didn’t we lose about $360,000 which the cable company paid to Middletown annually for their cable TV monopoly, that was actually money to be used for the operation of Public Access Channel 24!!! That money (according to you) was just a gift to the city and if any funding went to Channel 24, it was just out of the goodness of your heart. In truth, that money did not belong to the city at all, but was only for the public access channel. Adkins closed Channel 24 down, citing their lack of funds to operate, funds which the city had confiscated. Because our city business is longer monitored by the public via broadcasting, our city government has become even more unresponsive to the citizens they were elected to serve. City council is oblivious to this, just like they are oblivious to other city admin methods of circumventing the Sunshine Laws!!! “Little” things like the Sunshine Laws mean nothing to Adkins.

After Planning Commission votes on a proposed zoning change, the matter comes to City Council to affirm or deny the recommendation of Planning Commission.  Under City Ordinances, there must be a published notice of public hearing at least 30 days before the matter can come before City Council for consideration.   The notice was published and the 30 day notice period meant that the matter would not come to City Council at the October 3rd meeting, but rather on Tuesday’s meeting on October 17th.

The delay was not staff driven, Planning Commission driven, or at the request of either KHN or Atrium Medical Center.  It was simply a matter of Middletown law which requires that people know about the proposed change and have 30 days opportunity to express public opinion, both at the Public Hearing, and also to their City Council representatives.

Why did Mr Adkins’ Planning Commission recommend opposing Kettering’s request?? Mr Adkins may have had a lot to do with Planning Commission’s denial. It seems rather convenient that he brought up the zoning ordinance amendment below that requires 4 affirmative votes to overturn Planning Commission’s recommendation. (He has total control over these boards and commissions! Remember when CVB didn’t do exactly as Adkins wanted?? So, he forced the entire board to resign and replaced them with his own puppets; even though requests for resignations and appointments to boards is a function of council).

The KHN zoning request was set to come to City Council today.  Under Middletown Ordinances, if City Council wishes to reverse the recommendation of Planning Commission, it takes an affirmative vote of four of the five Council members to overturn Planning Commission’s recommendation.  Four out of five City Council members would need to vote yes to allow the KHN zoning to be changed to permit hospital beds at the new facility.  City staff recommended to City Council that the zoning be changed to allow the beds as requested by KHN.

This is a misquote … the zoning ordinance amendment does not describe the total number of council members as 5.

Here’s the amendment found under Middletown zoning ordinance which addresses Council’s voting requirements to overturn a Planning Commission recommendation:

1284.01 of the Middletown Ordinances
http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Ohio/middletown_oh/parttwelveplanningandzoningcode/titlefourzoning/chapter1284amendments?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:middletown_oh$anc=JD_1284.01

CHAPTER 1284:  AMENDMENTS

Section

1284.01   Amendment to text and map.

1284.02   Procedure for amendment.

1284.03   Application fee.

CROSS REFERENCES

   Fee for zone change - see P. & Z. 1286.02

§ 1284.01  AMENDMENT OF TEXT AND MAP.

   Whenever the public necessity, convenience, general welfare or good zoning practice require, the City Council may, by ordinance, after recommendation by the Planning Commission and subject to the procedures set forth in this chapter, amend, supplement or change the regulations, district boundaries or classifications of property, now or hereafter established by this Zoning Ordinance or any amendments thereto. No such action shall be taken until the proposed amendment or change has been submitted to the Planning Commission for approval, disapproval or suggestions. The Planning Commission shall be allowed at least 30 days for consideration and report. Any ordinance which violates, differs from or departs from the recommendation of the Planning Commission, shall not take effect unless passed by the affirmative vote of at least four members of the City Council.

(Ord. 4886, passed 12-27-1968)

This amendment was in effect prior to 2014. The number of council members was reduced (in 2014) to 5 of the original 7. That means that prior to 2014, the required 4 out of 7 votes (54%) was a simple majority vote, not a super majority vote. A simple majority vote by our current 5 member council would be 3 out of 5, … not 4 out of 5 … which would require an unheard of 80% majority.

Apparently Kettering’s rezoning request would have (should have) been approved.

Mr Adkins prides himself on being a lawyer, so it’s difficult to believe that he wasn’t aware of the truth of this matter. Not to mention that it appears our law director, Les Landen was also unaware??? And perhaps our (lawyer) council member Dan Picard didn’t know either? If any of them were aware … well … what would you conclude????

On Monday, October 16, 2017, around noon, KHN submitted a letter to me formally withdrawing their application to rezone the two parcels in question, thereby abandoning their request to add hospital beds to the new facility.  The KHN zoning requests have been removed from today’s City Council agenda and they are no longer under consideration by the City at the request of KHN.

Again, this does not change the original designs of the facility to offer Emergency Room services and outpatient services.

There have been discussions in the community that the city supported or didn’t support the KHN plan and that the matter was somehow subjectively being manipulated by City government to get a particular outcome.   This one is by the books folks.  Planning Commission made their recommendation.  The city followed the law and standard procedure to publish notice and offer time for comment.  KHN withdrew their request completely with no input from  City staff.    I do not know their business reasons for withdrawing their request.

So KHN withdrew their zoning request, probably thinking that they were going lose the council vote. Mr Adkins, if “this one is by the books” then we want to see and read the book. Is it Adkins’ little book of hide the facts, discussions, and meetings? The city followed a misquote of the Middletown law concerning the 4 votes required to allow Kettering’s rezoning. Was that standard procedure too?. Adkins claims not to know the reasons that KHN withdrew their request completely. Kettering, at this point had talked directly to council members and was aware of their positions and thought that the 3 of 5 votes in their favor…supposedly, would not be enough. … Mr Adkins, you knew this!! Reportedly, Mulligan and Moon were against the request. KHN didn’t know that a simple majority, 3 of 5 votes, was all they needed.

If city hall insists on preventing KHN and others to bring in new much needed enterprise which will promote growth and prosperity in Middletown, then our city will continue to fail while everyone around us is thriving. This is rejecting a gift horse that was a positive in every way. KHN has ask for no money or tax breaks from the city. If all of council, the city manager and city staff have to be replaced to save Middletown, so be it. January of 2018 may see petitions circulating to recall council, followed by hiring a new city manager and staff.

There will be no public hearing on this item or a vote of council tonight.  The request is withdrawn and done.

I hope this explains the process and time-line so people can understand what happened and why.

Yes, Mr Adkins, we do understand what happened and why! Unfortunately, with your help Middletown is losing jobs, tax dollars, residents and self respect. Allowing the good old boys mind set to keep destroying our city should no longer be tolerated by the citizens.

Hard to believe that Mr Adkins has not edited out the only comment made. This and other comments made to Journal News articles indicate citizen dissatisfaction even to the point of disgust.

One thought on “Kettering Health Network Rezoning Request”

1. Dan jones

   October 17, 2017 at 5:12 pm

   This is a huge loss to the people of middletown!! Most who live in this city cannot afford transportation so they’re forced to go to atrium for their medical needs. As everyone in this town knows and as any medical professional will tell you atrium is the worst hospital in southwest Ohio! It doesn’t effect me I drive to UC west Chester or Kettering but it hurts the tens of thousands of poor residents of our city! What would’ve been the big deal of just giving them the permit? It would’ve meant more tax dollars for the city and improve the city overall! Thanks for taking the time to read! Let’s make middletown great again!!!

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