Cape End Manor Care Campus

24 Race Point Road. DPW Garage Site for Care Campus. DECEMBER 2002. On the afternoon of December 9, 2002, the Town of Provincetown learned that the State's Division of Capital Asset Management was awarding "Site Y" to the State's Department of Fisheries & Wildlife-- making it unavailable for the Town of Provincetown. That evening, the Board of Selectmen voted to establish the Town-owned 24 Race Point Road (Assessors Map 9-1-8) as the proposed location for the Cape End Manor Care Campus, as described below.

The Selectmen voted on 12/9/02 to submit a Determination of Need application to site the new Cape End Manor Care Campus at the 5.6-acre DPW Garage property at 24 Race Point Road (north of Route 6). The DPW garage function would need to be relocated to other sites. Among those being reviewed are the Town-owned Transfer Station property (7.4 acres), and the Knowles Crossing Water Department facility in North Truro.

The Board of Selectmen also voted to rescind its vote of October 28, 2002 relative to the siting of a non-profit animal shelter on a portion of said property and to direct that an alternative site be identified.

Determination of Need Application. In order for the Town to take advantage of the January 2, 2003 Determination of Need application deadline, the Town must have control of the proposed site and the site must be properly zoned. We lose one year-- at least-- if we make no application in this round. We have control of the DPW Garage site, because it is Town-owned; and we can take steps now to put the necessary zoning amendments in effect. Accordingly, the Selectmen voted to submit by the January 2, 2003 deadline a Determination of Need application to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to construct the Cape End Manor Care Campus at the DPW Garage site.

Zoning Amendment. The April 1, 2002 Special Town Meeting amended the Zoning By-law by establishing a Highway Corridor Overlay District in which §2353 provides that "the following additional uses may be authorized with a special permit issued by the Zoning Board of Appeals, subject to a finding that the proposed use is consistent with the purpose of the HCOD district and conforms to all applicable provisions of the Zoning By-laws: Nonprofit Nursing Home, Convalescent Home; Nonprofit Assisted Living Facility; Nonprofit Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility." §2352 defines the district boundaries as an area in the vicinity of and encompassing Site Y. An amendment would need to be offered to designate also an area in the vicinity of and encompassing the DPW Garage Site, as well. Accordingly, the Selectmen voted to refer to the Planning Board, pursuant to MGL C. 40A,§5, a proposed zoning amendment to add said site to the Highway Corridor Overlay Zoning District.

Chapter 30B Procurement Issues. The procurement procedure which led to the selection last winter of the proposal of Roush & Associates is site-specific. That is, that RFP and its outcome were tied to Site Y. If another site is chosen, another RFP must be issued. Accordingly, the Selectmen voted to declare, pursuant to MGL C.30B,§16, clause (a), that said site is available for disposition pursuant to the terms of a Request for Proposals in which the Town is seeking offers from qualified Health Care Providers to acquire title to the parcel and construct thereon a new health care complex consisting of a nursing home, outpatient rehab services, and affordable assisted senior living, and to transfer the Cape End Manor nursing home license for operation thereof, such conveyance to be conditioned upon the successful Health Care Provider assuming operation and management of the Town's existing Cape End Manor nursing home on or about July 1, 2003 and to continue such operation and management until the new facility is opened. The RFP will be issued in January 2003; proposals will be due February 7, 2003.

Why We Cannot Wait. If we need any reminder about the "cost of delay" if were we to submit no D.O.N. application in this current round, then we need only focus on the continuing financial problems of the current Cape End Manor-- even with four years in-a-row of deficiency-free state surveys. Now that our FY 2002 audit is nearing completion, the issue we are seeing is what impact the Manor's FY 2002 deficit will have on the FY 2003 property tax rate. The problems are two-fold. First, that the Manor overspent its budget last year by $785,135; and second, that the additional revenue the Manor took in to offset these costs-some $380,469-cannot be applied directly to reduce those expenses. The gross increase in spending was $785,135. The net increase in spending was $404,666. Any coping strategy would require that the third quarter FY 2003 tax bills be delayed-- like last year-- until after correcting action can be taken at the Apri 2003 Special Town Meeting. The additional revenue must first show up as 7/1/02 "free cash" certified by the Department of Revenue . Thereafter, it would take a town meeting vote to apply that free cash to reduce the tax rate. The FY 2003 tax rate would then be set after the town meeting.

All of this underscores why the Town of Provincetown cannot remain in the nursing home business under this current model for much longer and why-for the sake of both the Town's long-term financial health, and our citizen's health care needs-we must advance the Care Campus model in whatever form we can.

What happened to Site Y?

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