Committees advance letter of intent on potential sale of county home
By Brandi Makuski
Monday’s joint committee meeting left more questions than answers.
A majority of the members of Finance, Space and Properties, and Health Care Center Committees this week agreed to advance a resolution that permits county leaders to continue negotiations on the real estate purchase agreement and the operations transfer agreement of the Portage Co. Health Care Center.
About 50 people were in attendance at the meeting.
Most of the 90-minute meeting consisted of public comment from frustrated residents on the possible sale of the county’s embattled healthcare facility, with many concerns centered on Sam Follman of Waukegan, Ill., the party interested in buying the center for $1.88 million.
Follman was not present at Monday’s meeting, but many questioned his history in the healthcare business, which allegedly includes low ratings and citations at other facilities owned by Follman.
Portage Co. Executive John Pavelski attempted to address those concerns during the meeting but was prevented from releasing additional information by David Hickethier, the county’s corporation counsel, who said information discussed in closed session could not be publicly released.
But some Committee members asked Monday night whether those low ratings and citations were incurred before Follman’s acquisition — information they said could only be obtained during a thorough vetting of his history, which could only occur after approving the resolution.
The county can back out of the deal anytime at no penalty, according to Kevin Ramakrishna, the county’s outside counsel.
Under the conditions of the resolution up for final approval at the March 19 County Board meeting, Follman’s letter of intent includes a proposed purchase price of $1,880,000, earnest money of $25,000, a 60-day due diligence period, language to negotiate options to incentivize employee retention, the buyer paying the broker’s fee, and “having the pre-closing amount of receivables intended as cash flow to continue Health Care Center operations at a high rating, health care services to residents, and capital improvements to the facility.”
During a joint meeting between Finance, Space and Properties, and Health Care Center Committees this week, members agreed to make the letter of intent public for discussion during the next joint Committee meeting on Monday, March 11.
If the Board approves the terms of the offer, the county will continue negotiations on a real estate agreement and transfer of operations.
The county would also create an ad hoc committee to take routine updates on the progress and report back to the full County Board.
Plans to keep the embattled 48-bed facility afloat and construct a new health care center were approved in an April 2022 referendum vote that increased taxes by “up to $4.5 million annually” for 20 years, but due to rising costs and a decline in patients found, that cost was about $1.7 million short annually.
In January, the Board voted 16-8 against placing an additional referendum question on Portage County’s embattled healthcare center on the April ballot, but no formal vote of a November referendum has yet been cast.