Tag Archives: Elgin St. Thomas Public Health

06.02.12
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A waiting game at STEGH while government backtracks

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It’s been all quiet on the STEGH re-scoping front of late so time for an update courtesy of hospital CEO Paul Collins, in the form of a personal message sent to his “colleagues.”
Collins advises, “At the time of my last update to you on April 19th we were meeting with the Ministry Capital Branch in Toronto to discuss our STEGH project “re-scoping” approach. Our discussion with them focused on reducing the over-all cost of our project.”
Cost savings can be achieved by possibly eliminating some elements, like new hallways for movement through the existing buildings and reducing the size of new areas like the emergency department and mental health, while maintaining ministry planning and space standards, Collins suggests.

“These changes are possible only because since submitting the original plan in 2009, we have learned a great deal about how to plan and use space better,” he suggests.
“We have continued to work with the ministry on our “interim” plan to demolish the Snell building, move Ambulatory care from the first floor west wing to ground floor CCC and renovate the vacated first floor west wing, all to accommodate the new Mental Health program in this temporary space, beginning 2013.”
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05.26.12
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Health unit ‘reverses and changes’ will impact ratepayers, warns London developer

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We opened up City Scope seven days ago by suggesting the ball was in the court of London developer Shmuel Farhi.
The comment was in reference to the decision by Elgin St. Thomas Public Health to seek new digs, not located on property owned by Farhi in the city’s west end.
Well, Farhi has rifled the ball back into this corner in convincing fashion.
He is most upset at a comment we made as to where the allegiance of members of council lie.
Specifically, my observation “any dissenting voice on city council (on a minor zoning variation needed by Family and Children’s of St. Thomas and Elgin to move into the 99 Edward St. location that is the current home of the health unit) would certainly be based on allegiance to Farhi . . . rather than to city ratepayers.
That prompted a terse email from Farhi, who asserts he had a deal in place with the health unit for his Talbot Street property.

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05.19.12
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A new home for health unit and it’s not on Farhi property

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Over to you Shmuel.
Elgin St. Thomas Public Health made it official this week: they are seeking a new home and it won’t be on property at the west end of Talbot Street owned by London developer Shmuel Farhi.
As reported in the Times-Journal, the health unit is close to a deal for two acres of property at a yet-to-be-disclosed location, with a budget of about $10 million to design and build a new, 30,000-square-foot-home.
Their current abode is 27,000 square feet at 99 Edward St., and the proposed move prompted T-J reader Bill Petryshyn to post on our website: “10 million dollars for an extra 3000 sq ft? Seems pricey.”

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05.05.12
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Sorry, we’re very busy getting our house in order

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It’s a gutsy call . . . turning down an opportunity to have St. Thomas profiled on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Mayor Heather Jackson and other city officials turned thumbs down on feelers from Force Four Entertainment in Vancouver requesting the city consider serving as a backdrop for the second season of Million Dollar Neighbourhood.
Promotional material touting the series gushes, “Million Dollar Neighbourhood is a groundbreaking television series about taking control of finances, the power of community and guiding people toward their best lives.”

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04.30.12
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The full story, Elgin St. Thomas Public Health – as related in a Shmuel Farhi email

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

London developer Shmuel Farhi’s accounts of the events leading up to a tentative deal with Farhi for property at the west end of Talbot Street to be the new home of Elgin St. Thomas Public Health as taken from an April 19, 2012 email to Ald. David Warden and Mayor Heather Jackson, with copies to Ald. Gord Campbell and Ald. Tom Johnston. This follows April 28,2012 discussion in City Scope which you can read here. The email is entitled Without Prejudice . . .

Hello Dave:

I am very pleased we finally had the opportunity to talk at length yesterday about the history of the Health Unit’s search for a new building.

As I told you, I met with Paul Smith, Cynthia St. John, Amy Dale and others in my office in the early fall of 2009 and we received “verbal agreement” on a design/build/lease package.

On November 5, 2009, Cynthia sent an email that included the following: “I am pleased to report that Amy will be in touch with you and Colleen to finalize the offer to lease. The board did have some specific questions about materials used in the design and such but nothing that will hold us up. Once Amy, Colleen and I have finalized the offer to lease, I have direction from my board to sign it so we are moving ahead which is great news. Thank you for your patience and availability over the last while to finalize this deal.” (Emphasis mine.)

On November 5, 2009, Kim Eitel of the Health Unit emailed the following to me: “Amy Dale will be in touch with your office Friday or Monday to finalize the “offer to lease”.” (Emphasis mine.)

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04.28.12
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Search for new health unit home may begin in court

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Well, that didn’t take long. We hinted in this corner last week debate on a new home for Elgin St. Thomas Public Health was likely to heat up in the near future, however we didn’t expect matters to flare up in such threatening fashion over the course of seven days.
To recap, the health unit board of directors has indicated a move is in store from their current home at 99 Edward St., to a yet-to-be-determined two-acre site.
That new home will not be located on property owned by London developer Shmuel Farhi at the west end of St. Thomas on Talbot Street.
Farhi thought he had a deal with the board of directors and health unit CEO Cynthia St. John in 2009 for a 30,000 sq. ft., purpose-built structure on a long-term lease.
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04.21.12
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Rescoping? Beats me, insists former MPP Steve Peters

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Watch for the matter of a new home for Elgin St. Thomas Public Health to heat up dramatically in the coming days.
The health unit has been out of the public spotlight of late and that’s not a bad thing after the drama and controversy that dogged the previous board of directors.
The new board, including Elgin Warden Bill Walters and St. Thomas Ald. Dave Warden, has got the organization focused on moving forward.
However, will it withstand the fallout from a forthcoming announcement on a move from its current digs at 99 Edward St. to a two-acre site that is not the west Talbot Street property owned by Shmuel Farhi?
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02.04.12
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Of camels and rich men and costly back-tracking

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The cost of the proposed new police headquarters has nearly doubled over the past eight years because
of the feet dragging of successive councils.

Dithering being perpetuated by some aldermen who, as a result, are directly hitting ratepayers where it hurts most — the pocket.

In 2003, a building condition assessment and space needs assessment study of the justice building was undertaken by the Stonewall Group.

Its recommendation: “the principal strategy to meet the long-term accommodation needs of the St. Thomas Police Service would be best served by building a totally new facility.”

Estimated cost, $10.5 million.
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11.26.11
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Should we go or stay, the answer after this time out

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We haven’t harangued the brass at Elgin St. Thomas Public Health in some time, but that
doesn’t mean they have eluded the City Scope radar.

There is a sense the contentious issue of a new home for the organization is about to surface in the not-too-distant future.

When we last left the health unit in the twilight of the previous board of directors, there was a deep rift between the city council reps — staunchly in favour of locating to new digs — and the county contingent — firmly looking to preserve the status quo with the organization remaining in the county-owned building at 99 Edward St.

This week, the health unit and the county agreed to a one-year extension of the existing lease that will see the organization stay put until the end of 2013.
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