Rainycrest deal to include 21 new beds, capital grants

FORT FRANCES—Municipal councils across Rainy River District are being asked to vote on a deal to transfer Rainycrest Home for the Aged to Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc. permanently—a deal that, if accepted, will include the addition of 21 new beds to the home and $1.35 million in capital grants from the province.
The agreement calls for nine of the 10 district municipalities to continue supporting Rainycrest with an annual funding contribution beginning with 2006 levels, and decreasing by 10 percent each year until it is phased out entirely by 2017.
Atikokan instead will put its annual Rainycrest contribution of $200,000 towards the Atikokan General Hospital for long-term care programs there.
Atikokan’s funding contributions to the AGH will not be phased out.
The deal is different from the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Riverside and Rainycrest back in May, which outlined a funding agreement that would release municipalities of all responsibility in five years, rather than 10.
R. Scott Rowand, chair of the amalgamation steering committee, is a consultant hired by the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care to help mediate discussions.
In a memorandum to district municipalities, Rowand explained the agreement was expanded to 10 years due to the need for large capital investments in the home not previously identified.
“Since the MOU was signed, an operational review and facilities assessment of Rainycrest have been completed,” he noted.
“The facilities assessment conducted by a team of architects and engineers identified urgent health and safety issues requiring immediate resolution with cost estimates totalling close to $1.5 million.”
The assessment also identified “over $3 million of other needed improvements that must be addressed over time related to electrical, mechanical, structural, and fire safety concerns,” he added.
These include the installation of fire sprinklers throughout the building, improvements to the HVAC system, and expansion of the residents’ dining room, among others.
As a result of these needed upgrades, the ministry has agreed to provide a capital grant of $1.35 million to cover 90 percent of the costs of the urgent capital issues—if municipalities accept the agreement.
“Even with a capital grant of $1.35 million from [the ministry] to Riverside to address the most urgent issues, however, additional capital support is required and hence the request for extension of municipal contributions [to 10 years,]” Rowand explained.
La Vallee Reeve Emily Watson, who also sits on the Riverside board, said she expected her council to approve the deal at a special meeting last night “even though this is not the deal we were expecting.”
“We were expecting to be out of this in five years,” she said.
However, with the large amount of maintenance work required at Rainycrest, the need for funding over 10 years is not surprising.
“Because of government downloading and a lack of funding in the past years, the maintenance issue at Rainycrest has been put on the back burner,” Reeve Watson said.
“There is a great deal of work that needs to be done there.”
“Now the ministry is going to give us money to do maintenance. . . . I think it’s a good deal,” she concluded.
In addition to the capital grant, the ministry also is prepared to approve and fund 21 additional beds in the home “to address the nearly 100 people currently on the waiting list for placement at Rainycrest,” Rowand noted.
“That will be very nice,” Reeve Watson noted. “We have a long waiting list of people that are still in their homes or they’re in continuing care at Riverside waiting to go to Rainycrest.”
“It’s a good deal. It’s everything we were looking for when this whole thing started,” said Fort Frances Mayor Dan Onichuk, who also is chair of the Rainycrest board of management.
“It will provide better care for seniors, and long-term sustainability for the home,” he added.
One of the major points of contention during early negotiations was the issue of taxation without representation. While the Rainycrest board is made up of elected officials, the Riverside board is made up of district citizens who do not have the right to tax.
The proposed deal gets around the issue by outlining a funding agreement which each municipality must enter into individually with Riverside.
“Each town is agreeing to donate to Riverside ‘x’ amount of dollars on a sliding scale,” he explained.
Funding provided by local municipalities “will be used exclusively for long-term care services and programs in the District of Rainy River,” Rowand noted in his memorandum.
District municipalities currently contribute about 15 percent of Rainycrest’s annual operating budget (about $1.2 million for 2006, although this number has been increasing steadily every year).
Rowand estimated that under the current system, that number would increase to $1.8 million annually in the next 10 years.
“The actual sale of the home rests with the board of management,” he added.
The agreement states Riverside will purchase the home, including the property, for $1.
“The alternative to this proposal is the risk of permanent control of Rainycrest by [the ministry] by way of an Order of the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council pursuant to s. 30.15 of the Homes for the Aged and Rest Homes Act,” Rowand said.
“In which case the municipalities would still have to contribute levies to Rainycrest annually in perpetuity, but would have no control over the home or the amount of the levy, including the Township of Atikokan,” he added.
“I had the opportunity to go through the agreement, and I think it’s a win-win situation,” Coun. Roy Avis said at Monday night’s town council meeting.
“It’s very well thought-out, and the facilitator who put the package together did a very good job,” he added. “I know I was a supporter of Riverside from day one.
“It was the process we’ve gone through I’ve not been happy with,” Coun. Avis added. “I’m still waiting for minutes from meetings from the year 2005. I’ve only received one copy of minutes, and I think there was four or five meetings during that period.
“But the way this package came together, I’m very happy. I think it’s a win-win for this town,” he stressed.
“And a win-win for the entire district,” echoed Coun. Rick Wiedenhoeft.
“I think, at the closing of this agreement, it would be most appropriate to send a letter of thank you to Mr. Smitherman for his investment in our district, and tell him how very pleased we are with the consultant named on the project and the outcome of it,” said Coun. Tannis Drysdale.
“I think it’s been a really positive thing. And the people that worked diligently on it should be rewarded.”
The closing date for the agreement is Oct. 18, so municipal resolutions should be passed before that date.
However, district councils that will be in a “lame duck” situation—that is, where fewer than 75 percent of current councillors are seeking re-election—must pass their resolutions by the nomination deadline of Sept. 29.
(Fort Frances Times)