N.A. Council OKs Lease for Family Practice
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"We know it's important for us to keep in our area and in our city as many physicians as possible," said Mayor John Barrett III. "This will allow this to proceed and be used for that type of facility."
NBH, parent company of North Adams Regional Hospital, is acquiring Northern Berkshire Family Practice at 820 State Road, located on Harriman-West Airport land to keep it operating as a family clinic.
In announcing the acquisition on Wednesday, NBH President Richard Palmisano said, "It's no secret that there are immense pressures on primary-care doctors across the state and especially here in Berkshire County, and it's important to do all we can to strengthen the provision of those services here."
NBH was looking toward ensuring a 50-year lease from the North Adams Airport Commission as part of the financial packaging for the acquisition of the building, which became available because Drs. William Kober and Stephen Payne decided to go their separate ways.
The current practice has a 35-year lease on the property under the name South Coast Partners LLP; the 25-year extension would kick in after that lease has run out. Barrett said most leases at the airport run about 20 years with options to renew.
The transfer to NBH will give the building nonprofit status, which concerned several of the councilors. The mayor said NBH had agreed to payment in lieu taxes on par with the current tax evaluation. Councilors Michael Bloom, Clark Billings and Richard Alcombright asked if the lease would reflect the PILOT agreement but the mayor said it would likely be a separate agreement. He expected it to occur by the sale closing.
He also said there would be no tax increment financing package included in the transfer; the family practice had received some type of monetary break, though not a TIF, and that had run out after five years.
"I think it has to be understood that we intervened a little bit in trying to bring everybody together to save this building in order to keep it going as a medical facility," said Barrett. "A lot of discussion went on, back and forth, and the hospital stepped up to the plate. ... It's a win-win situation for everybody."
Attorney Jaime Art of Grinnell Smith LLP, representing NBH, said he thought the taxes on the property were "in the neighborhood of $20,000" but cautioned he did not have the exact amount available. In response to a question by Councilor Gailanne Cariddi, he said the wording in the old and new leases were not significantly different.
The newer one included "some clarifying amendments" to reflect that it was an existing building rather than bare land and accommodation for possible uses related to NBH subsidaries, all in the medical field. NBH could not go beyond the parameters without gaining permission from the Airport Commission, he said.
"In other words, a Taco Bell couldn't be there," said the mayor.
"There is a real effort here to find a way to keep primary-care physicians in the community," said Art. "There is a real shortage of primary-care doctors and there's an opportunity here for Northern Berkshire Healthcare through some of its subsidiaries to keep enough doctors here to take care of all of us."
NBH officials said Kober would remain at the practice as medical director; several other health-care professionals, including Dr. Linda Hill from Williamstown Medical Associates, are joining. The health care system is continuing to recruit other doctors, as well.
The council unanimously approved the lease.
Councilors also briefly discussed an ordinance suggested by Alcombright to regulate the use of motorized wheelchairs, or power chairs, within the city.
The measure is before the Public Safety Committee and was reported to the council by committee Chairman Ronald Boucher.
A number of recommendations had been made at the last committee meeting he and Alcombright said, including defining what a motorized wheelchair is (nonregistered motorized vehicle designed and used as an assistive device by a person with a disablity), mandatory education sessions, limiting who can operate one (the owner, the disabled), abiding by pedestrian laws, using safety flags and operating on sidewalks.
Several citizens concerned about the ordinance had contacted him said Alcombright. "Nothing here is carved in stone," he assured the audience, including two women in power chairs who attended the meeting. The goal of the measure is to improve the safety of the power-chair users, he continued.
The Public Safety Committee will resume discussions on the ordinance on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 4 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Cariddi asked if the city's disability commission had had input into the regulations. The mayor said the dormant commission was in the process of being reactivated.
In other business, Boucher said conditions at a residence at 129 North St. had not improved. Neighbors have complained of poor conditions and haphazard work at the property. Owner Edward Burdick appeared before the council in August to say there had been a fire at the home earlier this year.
Boucher passed around pictures of the building, saying the Board of Health and the building inspector were sending letters warning Burdick to clean up the property. He has scheduled a meeting with abuttors, the owner and building and health officials on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 4 in the council chambers to discuss the issue. If no significant progress is made, he anticipated a public hearing in November to declare the property a public nuisance.
"If you look at the timeline really nothing has been done," he said. "In fact, it looks even more congested and the neighbors are really in an outrage."
