Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Pennock Hospital threatens to move so Hastings caves

Years ago I recall our local hospital buying up homes and swamp to expand their facility. They put in the lot on the South side, the physician center, and Pennock Village. That expansion created some tension then. Now here we are again. They are claiming no room to expand. Here I am once again saying ........what? When the supposed expansion of the hospital was needed back then why did they not expand using the land they had wisely? I have never seen any other hospital that "needed to expand" use their precious expansion space for a village, which currently is at this time not at capacity (I did notice the hospitals State Street sign advertising openings). Even if the Pennock Village was badly needed why not build it on the South side, and then expand the hospital to the North? They do own front to back Green Street to State Street. Move the Pennock Village, relocate the Urgent center (the mini me hospital which seems like a waste of space) and EXPAND! I get so tired of businesses and the tax breaks, and threats of moving. So because they have no vision or future planning abilities we are going to lose a park? Or as they say they are going to utilize the park space. Even though we will lose a pond, a house, a field, trees, and various other objects that will have to be destroyed, but hey we will not notice the change?!? I guess the City believes we are ignorant. First verbal abuse, and a public apology for....well nothing, and now we will not notice the hospital expansion into a park. I also dare to say that with them already getting approvals that this is more than just in the idea stages. We have little to do in the town area, I guess losing part of a park that will not be noticed should be ok....right? What are your opinions?

23 comments:

agnosticrat said...

My educated guess is that this would not even be an issue, had the powers that be been allowed to build a new jail. For what it is worth I suspect a certain amount of wink, and nod politics has been squashed by the lousy economy, and watchdogs (including some bloggers) that asked questions, rather than accept the idea that the issues with our present lockup could not be fixed much cheaper than the loads of money that would have to be spent on a new jail.
Now it is not so much, how much the county would like a new jail, but how badly would the hospital like that adjoining property?

call me crazy!

le bébé d'oiseau-mouche said...

Hey Crazy!
The whole purpose of building the village there was easy access tot he hospital, and now they are willing to move it and the village? Or are they leaving the folks at the village behind and then farther from hospital. I love the way politicians, businesses and other entities blow smoke up your skirt (or kilt) and then just let what they say slid under the carpet and feed ya more bs to get what they want.

Pol Watcher said...

I believe the plan is to keep the Village there. It seems obvious the people running the show have no long range plan or else it was part of the plan to create the village to justify a move later on but that seems a little "tin foil hat" for me to believe- Occam's razor and all.

el grillo said...

The issue is definitely worth more than a casual glance or a Banner review.

Hastings has little enough to offer without allowing Pennock to join the Rutland sprawl.

The hospital can be held to critical review and no doubt has anecdotal mishaps to bring out in the light, but by and large it has been a good citizen.

There is much of the Fish Hatchery Park that is not being used to its full potential, and it can survive some change. Merely by moving the softball diamond and soccer field to a different part of the park offers a huge amount of flexibility.

I hesitate to use the word "plan", but helping to create one would be a worthy idea.

If you watch the gradual destruction of what could have been a beautiful "linear park" on the old railbed, you will understand why more expansion into the irresponsible jurisdiction of Rutland is bad policy.

lonevoice said...
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el grillo said...

There is a photo of the house at http://el-grillo.blogspot.com

el grillo said...

ts,
Books are those things that are stored in libraries. They are rectangular, and have sheets of paper glued along one edge, inside. The sheets of paper have letters arranged as words, which are arranged in what are called "complete thoughts", or sentences. Some are for mere entertainment, but I prefer those that contain "ideas". You might find one that will assist you in running whatever it is that you call your business.

Not being anything more than a human, I have found the advice of others to be of great help. I was astonished to learn that with some effort I could get advice from my Spanish-speaking workers in Costa Rica who knew many things about construction that I had not yet learned.

lonevoice said...
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el grillo said...

First, please go back and cut-n-paste the part where I said anything about running a hospital or being critical of the way it is being run. Perhaps you confused me with somebody else.

I did mention that the hospital board would appreciate input from the community, which includes me. Planning future expansion and running a hospital are not the same things and require different talents and abilities.

You did a fine job of getting the 911 system up and running as an example of one of the best systems in the USA (regardless of cost). Later, when the system needed a people-person to preserve harmony and promote cooperation the board should have done what boards are supposed to do, and you should have been replaced while the environment was still friendly.

You obviously did not go to the el-grillo blogsite and see the photo of the house. I could use your expert advice on how to get internet service without bankrupting the limited bank account. I have a good view of the sky, which must include some satellites in geosynchronous orbits, which would be your area of strength. My construction-related career was productive because I was eager to learn from other people. I find your crack about know-it-all public service a bit hypocritical.

You might find "The Blue Zones,..." to be a welcome addition to your library. I am 16th on the list waiting for one of the 7 copies to be returned. My library is the public one, which rivals any private collection I have seen.

lonevoice said...
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lonevoice said...
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el grillo said...

I quote, (copy-n-paste)

"if you read my post I was directing some to you and some to others."

"cricket," (which I assume is me)
"I have never seen your house in C.R. I have never seen your plan, I have no idea what your books look like, but I can tell you better than you how to built it.....
the word joke comes to mind...."

One of my faults is a low BS tolerance.

GWBII, and Sen. McCain can get away with pretending that they can't read anything twice, since neither will be elected in November. You, on the other hand, should be embarrassed to contradict yourself on a page where any idiot can see that the truth is still being sought after.

I also quote myself:

"You might find "The Blue Zones,..." to be a welcome addition to your library."

I have not read the singular fiction. Unlike yourself, I find fiction boring.

lonevoice said...
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le bébé d'oiseau-mouche said...

Speaking of taxes, and unless I was mistaken in how they appear, it looks like Sarver paid his a wee little bit late.....or maybe like I said I read it wrong

el grillo said...

Persection?

le bébé d'oiseau-mouche said...

El I highly doubt that anyone would see this small town as any kind of Mecca. If I were you pay into land in CR. People are going to sworm there, not just for trhe weather but for the society in a whole.

el grillo said...

Bebe',
High-rollers are buying up land down in the flatlands of CR to get rich. Personally, I only have enough energy to manage 1 hectare.
This thread is about Pennock, and it draws many people into our little city.

lonevoice said...
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le bébé d'oiseau-mouche said...

I read that Pennock turned down the proposal. Are there not any areas inside CIty limits that can house the Hospital. The incubator? What about the property where super wal mart was going in?

lonevoice said...
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le bébé d'oiseau-mouche said...

How much land does Pennock own now, at their site?

el grillo said...

Pennock has already spent a lot of money buying "expert advice" from architects and engineers who probably would prefer to start from scratch on a clean blackboard. Very few A&E firms in the USA are capable of working in spaces that have been or are occupied. Urban A&E firms don't build stuff in places like Hastings, so all we attract are the originators of urban sprawl.

Just like the A&E folks that are promoting a new jail warehouse, these folks couldn't care less about local impact. One thing that will be forced to consider a new Rutland location (along with the hospital and warehouse) will be the mental health system that works closely with these facilities. If (as stated as fact without questioning, in the local rag) the hospital will need 20 more acres of land for the addition (can you picture a 20-acre room addition?)then we are going to be supporting a huge staff of medical professionals to fill all this space. Don't worry, though, they won't need housing near Hastings. They will be getting their kids into schools outside of our system, along with many of their peers.

el grillo said...

beb'e;
If we lose the incubator it will be the second great idea in Hastings to be destroyed by self-interest. The first was when the City bought the rail trail all the way to Airport road and then sold off enough parcels to cut it to pieces.
There are few enough examples of long-range thinking to look at. We need to hold tight to one when we get it.