Seecomments in red on Mr Adkins“explanation” of Kettering’s abandoned rezoning request whichhe posted on City of Middletown Manager’s blog.

Kettering Health Network Rezoning Request

October17, 2017October 17, 2017CityManager Middletown 1Comment

There’sbeen a lot of discussion around town on the benefits and pitfalls ofallowing Kettering Health Network to add overnight beds to theirfacility at the old Reyton Inn site at the I-75 Interchange.

Kettering(KHN) originally came to the city with a plan to build a $30 millionoutpatient medical facility that offered an Emergency Room andoutpatient services. As theproject progressed, KHN revisited the original plan and inquiredabout adding 8-20 beds for overnight stays in space that wasn’totherwise designated. As it stands now, an outpatient stay isanything less than 23 hours. In order to accommodate that request, azone change would have to be sought and approved by PlanningCommission and subsequently, City Council.

That’s right,our “leaders” have“intentionally crafted zoning ordinance”(accordingto DavidPearce, a former Middletown Regional Hospital board member, said “thezoning was intentionally crafted with the $300 million hospital asthe key centerpiece/ stakeholder.”) which splithairs and make it as difficult as possible for anyone to bring ingood jobs and healthcare for a majority of the citizens. Every othernearby area would welcomethe opportunityto have KHN’s jobs, services andprofessionals especiallyif, like Middletown, Atriumwas their only choice for healthcare.It would be great to go to a localdoctor or hospital that would acceptour insurance.

TheKHN application for a zoning change went to Planning Commission, andafter a long public hearing, the Planning Commission recommendeddenial of KHN’s zoning request to allow the hospital bedsfor overnight stays. This had no impacton the original KHN plans for the facility.

The PlanningCommission (evenafter staff recommended approval)recommended denial of KHN’szoning request. I wonder why?

On the MUSAblog, blogger swohio75(who seems to be in the know in the city building) says:

“AsI said, staff's recommendation was for approval. Assumption is thatthe City's Planner ran this recommendation up through the chain ofcommand (to Adkins likely) who didn't see an issue with therecommendation.

Thedecision is now in Council's hands. I can't say why PlanningCommission denied, because the Admin has decided that PlanningCommission meetings are not necessary to record and broadcast ontheir YouTube channel as had previously been done.”

Thissounds like a complaint from swohio75 that the Planning Commissionmeetings are no longer recorded oreasily available for public view. We need more people to take note thatourcity government is becoming more unapproachable and unresponsivebecause more and more government processes are taking place out ofpublic view. What an invitation to run a muck!!

Doyou know why the Planning Commission meetings are no longer recordedand broadcast?Adkins’ directiveto discontinue YouTube recording of thePlanning Commission meetings convenientlykeepsmeetingsand discussions hidden from thecitizens. Mr Adkins,... didn’twe loseabout$360,000whichthe cable company paid toMiddletown annuallyfor theircable TV monopoly, thatwas actually money tobe used for the operation ofPublicAccessChannel24!!! Thatmoney (according to you) was just a giftto the city and if any fundingwent to Channel24, it was just out of the goodnessof your heart. Intruth, that money did not belong to the city at all, but was onlyfor the public access channel. Adkins closed Channel24 down, citingtheir lack of funds to operate,funds which the city had confiscated. Because ourcity business islonger monitored by the public via broadcasting, ourcity government hasbecome even moreunresponsive to thecitizens they were elected to serve. City council is oblivious tothis, just like they are oblivious to othercity admin methodsof circumventing theSunshine Laws!!! “Little”things like the SunshineLawsmean nothing to Adkins.

AfterPlanning Commission votes on a proposed zoning change, the mattercomes to City Council to affirm or deny the recommendation ofPlanning Commission.  Under City Ordinances, there must be apublished notice of public hearing at least 30 days before the mattercan come before City Council for consideration.   Thenotice was published and the 30 day noticeperiod meant that the matter would notcome to City Council at the October 3rd meeting, but rather onTuesday’s meeting on October 17th.

Thedelay was not staff driven, Planning Commission driven, or at therequest of either KHN or Atrium Medical Center.  It was simply amatter of Middletown law which requires that people know about theproposed change and have 30 days opportunity to express publicopinion, both at the Public Hearing, and also to their City Councilrepresentatives.

Whydid Mr Adkins’ Planning Commission recommend opposing Kettering’srequest?? Mr Adkinsmay have hada lot to do with Planning Commission’sdenial. It seems ratherconvenient that he brought up the zoning ordinance amendmentbelow that requires 4affirmative votes to overturn PlanningCommission’s recommendation. (Hehas total control over these boards and commissions! Remember whenCVB didn’t do exactly asAdkins wanted??So, heforced the entireboard to resign and replaced them with his own puppets; even thoughrequestsfor resignations and appointmentsto boards is a function ofcouncil).

TheKHN zoning request was set to come to City Council today.  UnderMiddletown Ordinances, if CityCouncil wishes to reverse the recommendation of Planning Commission,it takes an affirmative vote of four of the five Council members tooverturn Planning Commission’s recommendation. Four out of five City Council members would need to vote yes to allowthe KHN zoning to be changed to permit hospital beds at the newfacility.  City staff recommended to City Council that thezoning be changed to allow the beds as requested by KHN.

Thisis a misquote … thezoning ordinance amendment does not describe the total number ofcouncil members as 5.

Here’sthe amendment found underMiddletown zoning ordinance which addresses Council’s votingrequirements to overturn a Planning Commission recommendation:

1284.01of the MiddletownOrdinances
http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Ohio/middletown_oh/parttwelveplanningandzoningcode/titlefourzoning/chapter1284amendments?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:middletown_oh$anc=JD_1284.01

CHAPTER1284:  AMENDMENTS

Section

1284.01   Amendmentto text and map.

1284.02   Procedurefor amendment.

1284.03   Applicationfee.

CROSSREFERENCES

   Feefor zone change - see P. & Z. 1286.02

§1284.01  AMENDMENT OF TEXT AND MAP.

   Wheneverthe public necessity, convenience, general welfare or good zoningpractice require, the City Council may, by ordinance, afterrecommendation by the Planning Commission and subject to theprocedures set forth in this chapter, amend, supplement or change theregulations, district boundaries or classifications of property, nowor hereafter established by this Zoning Ordinance or any amendmentsthereto. No such action shall be taken until the proposed amendmentor change has been submitted to the Planning Commission for approval,disapproval or suggestions. The Planning Commission shall be allowedat least 30 days for consideration and report. Anyordinance which violates, differs from or departs from therecommendation of the Planning Commission, shall not take effectunless passed by theaffirmative vote of at least four membersof the City Council.

(Ord.4886, passed 12-27-1968)

Thisamendment was in effectprior to 2014.Thenumber of council members wasreduced (in2014) to 5of theoriginal7. Thatmeansthat prior to 2014,the required 4out of 7 votes (54%)was a simple majority vote,not a super majority vote. Asimple majority vote by our current 5 member council would be 3 outof 5, … not 4 out of 5 …which wouldrequire anunheard of 80% majority.

ApparentlyKettering’s rezoning request would have (shouldhave) been approved.

MrAdkins prides himself on being a lawyer, so it’s difficult tobelieve that he wasn’taware of thetruth of this matter. Not to mention that it appears our lawdirector, Les Landen was also unaware??? And perhaps our (lawyer)council member Dan Picard didn’t know either? Ifany of them were aware … well … whatwould you conclude????

OnMonday, October 16, 2017, around noon, KHN submitted a letter to meformally withdrawingtheir application to rezone the two parcels in question, therebyabandoning their request to add hospital beds to the new facility. The KHN zoning requests have been removed from today’sCity Council agenda and they are nolonger under consideration by the City at the request of KHN.

Again,this does not change the original designs of the facility to offerEmergency Room services and outpatient services.

There have beendiscussions in the community that the city supported or didn’tsupport the KHN plan and that the matter was somehow subjectivelybeing manipulated by City government to get a particular outcome.  This one is by the books folks.  Planning Commission madetheir recommendation.  The city followed the law and standardprocedure to publish notice and offer time for comment.  KHNwithdrew their request completely with no input from  Citystaff.    I do not know their business reasons forwithdrawing their request.

SoKHN withdrew their zoningrequest, probably thinkingthat they were goinglose the council vote. Mr Adkins, if“thisone is by the books” then we want tosee and read the book. Is it Adkins’little book of hide the facts, discussions, and meetings? Thecity followed a misquote of the Middletown law concerning the 4 votesrequired to allow Kettering’s rezoning. Wasthat standard procedure too?. Adkins claims not to know the reasonsthat KHN withdrew their requestcompletely. Kettering, at this pointhad talked directly to council members and wasaware of their positions and thoughtthat the 3of 5 votes in their favor…supposedly,would not be enough. … Mr Adkins, you knew this!! Reportedly,Mulligan and Moon were against therequest. KHN didn’t know that asimple majority, 3 of 5 votes,was all they needed.

Ifcity hallinsists onpreventingKHN andothers to bring innew much needed enterprise which willpromote growth and prosperity inMiddletown, then ourcity willcontinue to fail while everyone aroundus is thriving.This is rejecting a gift horse that wasa positive in every way. KHN hasask for no money or tax breaks from the city. Ifall of council, the city manager and city staff have to be replacedto save Middletown, so be it. Januaryof 2018 may see petitions circulating to recall council, followedby hiring a new city manager and staff.

Therewill be no public hearing on this item or a vote of council tonight. The request is withdrawnand done.

Ihope this explains the process and time-line so people can understandwhat happened and why.

Yes, Mr Adkins,we do understand what happened and why! Unfortunately, with yourhelp Middletown is losing jobs, tax dollars, residents and selfrespect. Allowing the good old boys mind set to keep destroying ourcity should no longer be tolerated by the citizens.

Hardto believe that Mr Adkins has not edited out the only comment made. This and other comments made to Journal News articles indicatecitizen dissatisfaction even to the point of disgust.

Onethought on “KetteringHealth Network Rezoning Request”

1. Dan jones

   October 17, 2017 at 5:12 pm

   This is a huge loss to the people of middletown!! Most who live in this city cannot afford transportation so they’re forced to go to atrium for their medical needs. As everyone in this town knows and as any medical professional will tell you atrium is the worst hospital in southwest Ohio! It doesn’t effect me I drive to UC west Chester or Kettering but it hurts the tens of thousands of poor residents of our city! What would’ve been the big deal of just giving them the permit? It would’ve meant more tax dollars for the city and improve the city overall! Thanks for taking the time to read! Let’s make middletown great again!!!

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