By Angela Hill

City unable to help fund health facility

Jan 12, 2011 | 5:26 AM

The Prince Albert Parkland Health Region is worried about a decision that has come out of city council.

City council said they were unable to guarantee between $5.6-million and $6.5-million needed to help fund the new Pineview Terrace Lodge and without that funding the facility cannot be built.

“First of all it would be delayed a year, because if we don’t tender in the next four to six weeks, for the construction season, then it’s delayed a year,” said Gord Dobrowolsky, chairman for the health region board.

According to Ministry of Health cost sharing policies, the local area is responsible for 35 per cent of new facilities. The city and neighbouring municipalities are required to shoulder an estimated $8.2 million to complete the work. The city, as the largest population centre, would be required to front 70-80 per cent of the cost.

“The current policy requires that the 35 per cent be in place before going to tender, so if they are that close to going to tender, there might be a delay in the process,” said Pauline Rousseau, executive director of the Strategic Planning Branch of the Ministry of Health.

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While Rousseau said that the policy is going under review, it is unlikely that review will be completed by the end of this month.

The facility is needed to decrease pressure on Victoria Hospital and deal with increasing numbers of people needing long term care space, said Dobrowolsky.

“The replacement of Pineview in my view, and the board’s view, is the first project of maybe a few (care homes) down the road to take care of the increase in the 60 to 80 year-old age group,” he said.

The longer it takes to go to tender, the greater the cost of construction as those costs rise annually, he said.

But, there is greater worry than that.

“I believe that a negative decision by the city and other municipalities may cause some concern even for the future viability of the Victoria Hospital redevelopment,” Dobrowolsky said.

“I mean, if we can’t do this … it just sends a negative signal, which I as the chair of the health board don’t want to send to the Ministry of Health, that’s for sure.”

In the same announcement of provincial of funding for long-term care homes in 2009, Shellbrook was given the funds to create an integrated long-term care and hospital facility. Residents in that municipality will have a $300 per year levy, per household, for several years to help fund their local share.

City manager Robert Cotterill told council that the City of Prince Albert would have to borrow the money in order to fund the project. He pointed out there were several upcoming projects including bridge repairs, airport and landfill upgrades and taking on that debt would jeopardize those projects.

Mayor Jim Scarrow explained in an interview that while the city supports the project, it just simply can’t afford it.

“The city is in a manageable debt position, but we don’t have the reserves to pay this in cash,” he said.

“It’s a sizable amount of money and council felt that given the commitments that we have, our ability to take on other projects would be limited if in fact we were able to provide that loan (to the health region).”

City council also voted that Scarrow should meet with the health region and the province to find a solution. Scarrow said the hope was to create a united front to ask the province for more funding.

The health region board has approached a third party to see if they can carry the debt on behalf of the city as the health region is not to allowed to carry debt, said Dobrowolsky.

He said they hope to hear back from that organization soon.

“It’s now got to move forward, it must move forward,” he said.

ahill@panow.com

Projects the city needs to finance in the next ten years

– Major Bridge Repairs: $6.7 million

– Airport Terminal Building – approximately $6 million

– New Fire Hall – approximately $5 million

– Future development and infrastructure needs – $5 million to $20 million

– Landfill – $3.5 million

(Source: City Manager Report, pages 5 -11)