It was a packed house June 3 at the Covington Planning Commission public hearing on the downtown zoning plan, and the hot topic was an emergency medical department in the town center area.
After a flurry of statements and suggestions at the hearing in the City Council chambers, it became clear Covington is ground zero in a hospital war between Valley Medical Center and MultiCare.
The controversy that attracted some of the speakers and drew a line in the sand between the medical facilities began with an e-mail sent June 1 by Hugh Kodama, administrator for Covington MultiCare.
In the e-mail, Kodama came out against the zoning allowing for a medical facility to be built in the town center area.
Valley Medical Center, which is Public Hospital District No. 1, has plans to build a 24-hour emergency department on a 10-acre parcel of land in the town center. The hospital is in the process of purchasing the land from Ashton Development for about $5 million. The site is located behind Safeway and Fred Meyer.
Along with the emergency department, Valley is proposing to construct a two phase medical mall development with office and retail spaces.
Mike Glenn, senior vice president of business development for Valley, presented the plan for the first time in a public setting to the Covington City Council May 25.
Kodama wrote in the June 1 e-mail, “We believe that locating such a facility in the Town Center zone is not in keeping with the vision of Covington citizens who developed the Town Center plan during a lengthy, well-thought out process.”
MultiCare is planning on constructing a 24-hour emergency department on its site in Covington and in a second phase a 58-bed hospital. The MultiCare site is located outside the town center area, but within the downtown core.
At the public hearing 27 people spoke. According to a statistical summary provided by the city staff, 26 of the 27 directed their comments at the emergency center and medical facilities in the town center.
Of the 26 speaking, 13 spoke in favor of allowing an emergency center in the town center and 13 spoke against.
Of the 26 giving public testimony, 15 were associated with either MultiCare or Valley Medical and supported the position of the entities.
There were 11 city residents who testified and one who lived adjacent to Covington. The 12 were split, six for and six against allowing an emergency department or hospital in the town center.
Glenn spoke at the hearing stating “The free standing emergency department can be an excellent fit for the town center…. We are now entering a period of economic recovery and this can jump start the economy. It will create a foundation of strong family-wage jobs.”
According to Glenn the emergency department would see about 35 patients each day with about five brought by emergency vehicles.
Some residents raised questions about sirens and flashing lights in the town center.
Covington resident Dale Westin said, “I don’t think it (an emergency department) belongs in the town center area. I just don’t see hospitals and free standing emergency departments as part of that traffic flow. A town center is a place for the public. Please plan accordingly and make it pedestrian friendly and a place for a gathering.”
Lisa Pike, also a Covington resident, said she is “very interested” in a free standing emergency department in the town center because it will bring good jobs.
“I think with proper planning it can be taken care of,” Pike said.
Jessie Oliver, who works for MultiCare, read a letter from Kodama who could not attend the meeting.
Kodama wrote, “I’ve been reticent about voicing my opinion about this plan due to my position in my company and (I) did not want to appear that I was making any comments that are self serving.”
He stated in the letter, “It is fine to have clinic/office space, but to have an emergency department or a hospital in this area is a whole different ball game. The ambulances, the people that are ill, coughing, etc. Do we envision that we want our children playing next to that kind of scene? It does not fit into the Town Center.”
Cameron Buck who works for Valley as an emergency medical physician, said in his experience, “Ambulances will not be an issue. There is not going to be as much emergency traffic as a regular E.R.”
The Planning Commission will consider the testimony and make a recommendation to the City Council concerning the downtown zoning proposal, which includes the town center, as part of a process that began when the council adopted a new downtown plan in 2009.
The City Council is scheduled to meet with the commission at 6:30 p.m. July 13 to hear the recommendations. Half an hour later the same evening the council will hold a public hearing on the zoning plan. The council is expected to decide on the plan by August.
Letter From Hugh Kodama_MultiCare
Letter From Eric Rasmussen_MultiCare
Comment Letter From Multi-Care Architect Giuntoli on Downtown Zoning 05-25-10-1
