$51.935 million in
bonds allocated for
TriCounty Hospital
Groundbreaking could
be as early as late
January
By Lou Elliott
Jones, Editor,
Chiefland Citizen
Thursday, October
21, 2010 at 4:48 pm
The proposed
Tri-County Hospital
for Chiefland has
won almost $52
million of the $70
million in economic
stimulus bond money
it requested from
the state's pool of
federal Economic
Recovery Zone Bonds
approved by Congress
in 2009.
The Levy County
Board of
Commissioners was
notified Thursday by
the state Division
of Bond Finance that
it will receive
$51.935 million of
the bond money. And
as more money comes
into the bond pool —
returned by
municipalities and
county governments
that cannot or are
unable to use the
money — more will
flow to the
hospital.
The hospital, which
has been planned for
more than five
years, was nearly a
done deal before
financing went down
the drain with the
economy in 2008. But
Ameris Health
Systems LLC has made
a number of attempts
to obtain financing
in various ways
since then. but it
came up against a
tight credit market.
Throughout the whole
ordeal, the state
has extended the
required Certificate
of Need for the
60-bed facility.
Earlier this summer,
the county learned
that under the
American
Reinvestment and
Recovery Act
approved by Congress
in 2009 that bond
money had been
allocated to the
county even though
it did not fit the
requirements of the
program — that it
have a population of
at least 100,000.
Other counties could
not meet the
requirements to sell
the bonds by Dec. 31
for "shovel-ready"
projects.
Levy County returned
its allocation of
$346,000 in Recovery
Zone Economic
Development Bond
money and $519,000
in Recovery Zone
Facility Bond money,
but it did so with
one caveat.
It wanted the money
back and any other
money returned by
other governments so
it could be used for
the proposed
hospital, and
possibly the $14
million College of
Central Florida Levy
County campus in
Chiefland. However,
the college has
bowed out of the
bond picture.
The county learned
that when it turned
the bond money back
to the state, the
federal strings came
off and the state
could reallocate it.
Since then there has
been a rush by the
state and various
government entities
to set up rules,
take applications
and allocate the
bonds so they can be
sold by New Year's
Eve.
Frank Schupp, vice
president of
development for the
hospital's operator,
Ameris Health
Systems LLC, said
Raymond James is
prepared to sell the
bonds by Dec. 31.
For its part, the
county, as issuer of
the bonds on
Tuesday, approved
hiring Nabors,
Giblin & Nickerson
to serve as the
county's legal
advisor on the
bonds.
County Attorney Anne
Bast Brown explained
that while the
county issues the
bonds there is no
liability for
repaying them.
She said the
hospital "is on the
hook" to repay the
bond money. The
county also has no
liability to pay the
law firm's fees or
Brown's salary in
handling the bond
application as that
will come out of the
administrative fee
in the bond money,
she said.
Schupp said Ameris
is ready to move ont
he project. He spoke
with Chiefland
Building Official
Bill Hammond and the
company already has
a development permit
on file with the
Chiefland Building
Department.
"So we can begin the
development phase,"
Schupp said. The
company will apply
for permits from the
Suwannee River Water
Management District,
the state Department
of Environmental
Protection and the
state Department of
Transportation to
work on grading and
putting in retention
ponds on the
hospital site on
County Road 320 to
prepare for
construction. Schupp
said it should take
30 days to get the
permits.
"We could have a
groundbreaking in
the latter part of
January," Schupp
said, provided all
goes as planned.
The Levy County
Board of
Commissioners, the
Nature Coast
Business Council and
the Chiefland City
Commission joined
together to file the
necessary paperwork
for the bonds to be
issued
re-designating an
existing Enterprise
Zone designation for
the hospital site as
an Economic Recovery
Zone to qualify for
the bond money.
Levy County
officials, including
Pat O'Neal, the
county economic
director; Brown, and
Freddie Moody,
county coordinator
got the application
approved by various
government entities
and filed in to
Tallahassee.
"This money is for
shovel-ready
projects and the
hospital is a shovel
ready project,"
O'Neal said.
The county's
application was the
second to be
received by the
state, right behind
a $30 million
request from St.
Lucie County.
At Tuesday's Levy
County County
Commission meeting,
Brown said when she
last checked $69
million had been
turned back to the
state, which meant
the county could
qualify for $39
million in bonds.
And as other
governments returned
money more could
trickle the county's
way.
Gainesville Sun
Letter to the Editor
07-14-2009
Sun
hospital
story
requires
follow-up
As a
follow-up
to
the
July
2
regarding
Tri
County
Hospital
("Chiefland
hospital
now
‘shovel-ready',"
I
need
to
correct
some
of
the
points
raised.
We
are
in
the
process
of
working
with
Florida
Enterprise,
LLC
to
serve
as a
"vehicle"
for
obtaining
$30
million
in
bond
financing
as
part
of
the
total
project
cost
of
$55
million.
Florida
Enterprise
is
not
a
lending
institution.
The
balance
of
funds
will
be
through
equity.
Therefore,
neither
interest
rates
nor
terms
have
been
set.
The
most
important
item
is
that
we
would
like
to
accept
our
first
patient
in
the
spring
of
2011.
Frank
G.
Schupp,
President/CEO
Tri
County
Hospital,
Chiefland
Gainesville Sun
Article 07-02-2009
Plans to build a
106,000-square-foot
hospital in
Chiefland are back
on track,
administrators say,
after previously
taking a hit in the
economic downturn
that had delayed the
start of
construction.
Enterprise
Florida
has
approved
a
$40
million,
20-year,
low-interest
loan
for
the
project.
Under
a
bill
now
awaiting
Gov.
Charlie
Crist's
signature,
the
hospital's
construction
permit,
known
as a
certificate
of
need,
will
be
extended
to
36
months.
Jeff
Gregg,
who
heads
the
certificate
of
need
program
at
the
state
Agency
for
Health
Care
Administration,
said
it
makes
sense
to
add
18
months
to
the
deadline
for
breaking
ground
on
new
construction,
given
the
tight
financial
markets.
"We
are
ecstatic
because
this
gives
us a
better
opportunity
to
try
to
get
good
terms
on
financing,"
Tri-County
President
and
CEO
Frank
Schupp
said.
Schupp
will
run
the
hospital
for
Nashville,
Tenn.-based
Ameris
Health
Systems.
His
project
already
has
passed
sinkhole
examinations
and
architectural
standards.
"I'm going to use a term that President Obama uses. ... We're shovel-ready," he said.In recent appearances before Dixie County and Gilchrist County commissioners, Schupp emphasized that the hospital's opening date is dependent on obtaining the necessary funding to begin construction.
The cost of construction is expected to reach $54 million, with $30 million being financed with a mix of tax-free and taxable bonds.
Dixie, Levy and Gilchrist counties would have to approve the bonding program.
Schupp emphasized that he still must secure about $14 million in equity, basically funding through private investors.
"I don't yet have everything finalized," Schupp said. "Best-case scenario will be that the financing will be in place by August. I don't have a crystal ball, but I would hope we could take our first patient in spring of 2011."
Schupp made a presentation outlining the project's finances to members of Enterprise Florida in May. The hospital was one of three projects under consideration by the organization devoted to statewide economic development.
The two-story Tri-County Hospital will be located immediately behind the Wal-Mart Supercenter on U.S. 19. When completed, it is expected to employ about 350 people and have an annual payroll of about $11.5 million.
Tri-County Hospital
Article 05-06-2009
By Jenna McKenna, Chiefland Citizen
Tri-County Hospital CEO Frank Schupp addressed
Chiefland Rotary last week with an update on the
status of the hospital. He cut to the chase with his
opening statement:
“With the economy the way it is, it’s a tough time
to try to raise $54 million.”
Schupp then emphasized that the project is “still
the priority for Enterprise Florida,” the
public-private partnership for economic development
that helping the project search for funding.
Schupp said that two weeks ago he was called to
Orlando to make a presentation on the project’s
finances to members of the enterprise group.
“I think it went well,” he said.
“I was supposed to be there an hour; I was there
three hours, their Washington D.C. attorney was on
the phone.”
Schupp said the group was still trying to discover
how economic stimulus funds would be distributed,
and noted that the hospital was one of three major
projects being considered in the state, along with
one in West Palm Beach and one in Pensacola.
“This is the only rural project, though, and it is
the one that will generate the most jobs,” he said.
Schupp said he had been working on fundraising
himself, with the help of some locals. Rotarian
Stoney Smith, he said, had been particularly helpful
in sharing his contacts. Schupp said with the
economy bringing time pressures, he also reached out
to legislators to try to buy time for the project.
“Before the legislative session, I talked with Sen.
Charlie Dean and told him we needed help,” he said.
“I told him we have about $1.7 million into the
project already, and we already have the land.”
Schupp said he asked Dean to introduce a bill that
would give the hospital project a 12-month extension
to meet its funding goals; he said Dean told him he
would work to get a 36-month extension. A bill
introduced in the House passed without opposition,
Schupp said, but was held up in the Senate by
“hostiles from outside the area who said they feared
other hospitals would piggyback on the bill.”
Schupp said a revised version passed through the
Senate the week before and was expected to pass the
House that day, and would then go to Gov. Charlie
Crist for his signature.
Tri-County Hospital
Article 04-01-2009
There are no Historical or cultural artifacts or
endangered species at the proposed site of the
Tri-County Hospital project and that has hospital
CEO Frank Schupp happy.
Schupp, who has been working on the project for more
than a year was in a brighter mood than ever on
Monday when he discussed the progress of the
hospital.
Work has been going on at the site to meet state
regulations on locating and saving any artifacts and
to certify no threatened or endangered species were
at the site.
Schupp says that work is finished and work can
progress on construction once the financing is
secured.
He said the project has also received an extension
from the state on its certificate of need until at
least the end of June.
The good news is that a bunch of venture capital
companies that have all this money they need to park
somewhere and they don’t want to put it in the stock
market have been talking to the Nashville office,
Schupp said. He said at least three venture capital
companies are looking at the tri-county project. He
also said a partnership is possible with another
company.
The hospital started to run into snags when the
credit markets crashed in September with only 70
percent of the financing secured for the $54 million
project.
Schupp says things are starting to loosen in the
economy and the project is looking ahead.
There is no change in plans for a two-story, 106,000
square-foot facility on 20 acres along County Road
320 that he unveiled at a September Chiefland City
Commission meeting. Construction, once started,
should take 14 months.
Tri-County Hospital
Article 01-15-2009
The Tri County Hospital is slow to come to fruition
but it’s still on track to happen says the
facility’s chief executive officer.
Frank Schupp, who is in Arkansas on business this
week, said his company is working on doing a joint
venture with another company to finalize financing
and make the hospital a reality.
Schupp said he was not at liberty to reveal the name
of the other company, but he expects financing to be
worked out in 30-45 days.
It’s still active and alive, he said, assuring the
hospital will definitely be built.
He said there was no change in plans for a two-story
facility that he unveiled at a September Chiefland
City Commission meeting.
The company is negotiating a contract with an
ecological study firm to conduct a study of the
proposed construction site to make sure there are no
endangered or threatened species living on the site.
Plans call for the hospital to open in March 2010.
Schupp told the commission it will have 106,000
square feet and the total cost is expected to be
about $53.2 million.
Construction, which should take 14 months, was due
to begin in December, but Schupp said he obtained an
extension on the construction start because the
federal Department of Housing and Urban Development
wants assurances the proposed 20-acre site does not
contain any historical artifacts and that nothing
harmful has been dumped at the site. |
