|
|||||||||
|
Mayview State Hospital Land Reuse Task Force
Task Force members in attendance:
Senator Pippy opened the meeting with an announcement that between this meeting and the next, the Task Force will be preparing a draft of their final recommendations. The draft will be emailed to the Task Force members and then posted on the website. The plan for the Task Force going forward will be to meet twice more, once to make changes to the draft and then once more to go over the final product. Rich Kuppelweiser noted that the hospital officially closed on December 29, 2008. On the same day, a long term structured residence (LTSR) opened with 16 beds to serve patients that were not placed elsewhere. He noted that DPW was attempting to open a similar facility in Baldwin but was running into some problems due to zoning requirements. Buildings on the Mayview property continue to be locked down; they currently have only three buildings in use. Sixty staff will remain on hand for security, maintenance, housekeeping, dietary and laundry services. Eighty-eight staff continue to provide state services, including community support, quality management, and staffing services to the LTSR and two small group homes in Carnegie and Bethel Park. John Paul Jones noted that DGS has a bid out for an appraisal that will close on February 27th. The bid will be awarded in early March to the lowest bidder. The winning firm will then have 90 days to complete the appraisal for the "highest and best use" (most value for the land that involves a permissible use). The appraisal will be conducted on the property "as-is", meaning that it will take into consideration the cost of demolishing or remediating any buildings on the property. An environmental study will be conducted in a few months, as well as a new survey that will account for conveyances in the past. Roy Kraynyk asked if the appraisers would be considering the structural integrity or the functional use of buildings when determining if they are salvageable or if they need to be demolished. Mr. Jones responded that the appraiser will mostly be considering structural integrity. Chris Goswick asked about what would happen to buildings that are considered historic resources. Mr. Jones said that the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission has already been through the property and none of the buildings have been designated as historic. Emerald Van Buskirk read a prepared statement from the Southwest Communities Chamber of Commerce. (Click here to download.) Chris Goswick presented recommendations based on Allegheny County's Comprehensive plan, which was adopted on 11/5/2008. (Click here to download.) She noted that the County had concerns about urban sprawl and therefore encouraged development in or adjacent to areas that had already been identified as developed. She said the closest area identified as such by the county would be Bridgeville. She also mentioned the concept of "in fill" development, whereby areas that are between urban centers are "filled in" with supplementary development. Tom Stevenson asked if this recommendation would conflict with South Fayette's recommendation for a commercial area on the property. Ms. Goswick said she did not believe so, but it would depend on the degree of development planned for the Mayview area. Her main concern is the lack of infrastructure on the property, mainly the two-land rural road, which represents the only point of access. Also, she mentioned the possible need for upgrades to the water/sewer system. She thought that Mayview maintained its own water and sewer, but Rich Kuppelweiser noted that the property was actually serviced by Alcosan and Pennsylvania American Water. Mike Hoy offered the recommendations prepared by South Fayette Township. (Click here to download.) Senator Pippy asked if there was a tentative footprint for the trail easement mentioned in recommendation #3. Mr. Hoy said they didn't have one yet, but it was in the works. Mr. Hoy noted that the sale of the upper and lower portions together might actually bring in a lower sale price than if the parcels were sold separately because of the limited uses available for the upper portion of the property. He also mentioned that the Township was trying to develop Fairview Park into a regional park. Rich Kuppelweiser said that DPW would have concerns about recommendations 7 and 8 (relating to the Township's use of the property for recreational purposes while it was still under state ownership), specifically regarding security and maintenance costs. Mr. Hoy responded that the township would be willing to maintain the facilities in exchange for the use of the ballfields and other recreational sites. John Paul Jones noted that DGS has an incentive to turn the property over to new owners as soon as it is ready and leasing arrangements such as the one proposed by South Fayette have a habit of encumbering that process. He also stated that DGS will not be financing a traffic impact or fiscal impact study and noted that conducting those studies would lengthen the disposition process. Roy Kraynyk asked if South Fayette was still considering rezoning the property from B-1 into something else. Mike said yes, the B-1 zoning is just temporary; the Township is still working on developing the new zoning categories of conservation district and commercial village. He said that the planning commission has finalized the Conservation zone and is currently working on the CV. He noted that both should be ready in six months. Roy responded that the zoning could be used to control the future use of the property by providing a guide of what the property could bear in terms of current infrastructure and the Township's preferences, and that doing so would be easier than trying to come up with a specific site plan. Mary Fleming asked what zoning the appraisal would consider. John Paul Jones and said that based on the timetable offered by Mr. Hoy, the B-1 zoning would still be in place when the appraisal took place and therefore would be the type of zoning used for appraisal purposes. Mr. Hoy asked if the zoning would take into consideration other best uses regardless of the zoning, and Mr. Jones responded that only legal uses would be considered. Mr. Hoy added that the upper portion of the Mayview property may be rezoned by the time the appraisal is conducted. Mr. Jones asked to be informed of any zoning changes as soon as they occur. Mary asked about the RFPs and about the time frame for the disposition of the property. Mr. Jones said that the LTSR on the property would be terminated on 6/30/09, which would mean that the property could be ready to go after that. However, Mr. Kuppelweiser thought that it might take longer than that due to some environmental issues that need to be addressed. He said it could be a year before the property was in a condition where DGS would accept it as ready for sale. Tom Stevenson asked if the CV zone would include new housing. Mr. Hoy said yes, but not necessarily single family. Mr. Stevenson asked if it could potentially include housing for people with mental illnesses, and if it would include recreation areas. Mr. Hoy said yes to both. Mr. Stevenson then asked about the Township’s time frame for the demolition of abandoned property (which is 12 months). He was concerned that the 12 month time frame would not be sufficient for developers who bought the property to demolish all the abandoned buildings. Mr. Hoy said that they followed the state guidelines. Roy Kraynyk commented about the appraisal being conducted under the B-1 zoning and asked if the state could accept bids that were lower than the appraised value. Mr. Jones responded that DGS could do one of four things: put the property up for auction; institute a competitive bidding process; request RFPs; or deed all or a portion of it to a community. He noted that they are not required to set a minimum price. He also said that different conveyance terms could be set for different portions of the property. Mr. Kraynyk then asked what would happen if South Fayette downzones the property? He noted that he would like South Fayette to finalize the zoning before the property is appraised so that the appraisal would be conducted under the appropriate zoning. Mr. Jones asked Mr. Hoy for a possible time frame. Mr. Hoy said six months but that B-1 and CV are very similar and that changing the property to CV might actually push the price up because it can be used more flexibly by developers. Senator Pippy then began a discussion on the summary of the information that had been gathered thus far. He noted that PennDOT had no plans to upgrade the road, and he paraphrased Mr. Kraynyk’s comments from a previous meeting regarding the environmental concerns of the property. Sen. Pippy then asked Task Force members about the upper section of the property and South Fayette’s plans for it. Mr. Hoy commented that the area is approximately 40 acres and that township ordinances would prohibit development on most of it due to the steep slopes and other environmental concerns. Tom Stevenson mentioned that a portion of that property was relatively flat, and Rich Kuppelweiser noted that the FBI used to conduct training up there. Mr. Kraynyk asked if South Fayette planned to keep the buildings on that portion of the property intact. Mr. Hoy responded that the buildings had too many environmental challenges (like asbestos) and that reuse would cost more than demolition. Senator Pippy then read the public comments from the summary and asked about the preservation of the cemetery. Mr. Kuppelweiser said there was no cemetery and that they had been all over the property and could find no evidence that there ever had been one. Senator Pippy then noted his support for directing the funds from the sale of the property to provide for community based mental health services. Senator Pippy also asked about the conservation of the area alongside the creek. Specifically, he asked if the final offer would exclude these properties. Mr. Jones mentioned the possibility of easements. Mr. Hoy noted the difference between conveying the sensitive property to the township and placing an easement on it. Mr. Stevenson mentioned that developers can often get tax breaks for easements. It was agreed that a subcommittee should be established to determine what type of easements should be placed on the property prior to its disposition. Tom Stevenson asked about an updated survey. Mr. Jones said one had not yet been done. Mary Fleming then asked if land was conveyed to South Fayette, would it be possible to ask them to reimburse the mental health community if it was sold to another party within a certain time period. Mr. Hoy responded that it was perfectly appropriate to include that type of an agreement in a sales contract. Public Comment Carol Horowitz asked about the gas and mineral rights on the property. Mr. Jones responded that those will stay with the state; generally, they are maintained by DCNR. He noted that in relative terms, this parcel is too small for drilling. Ms. Horowitz then asked if the Task Force would include every recommendation that has been made in the final report or just the ones to which it subscribed? Sen. Pippy responded that only the recommendations endorsed by the Task Force would be included in the final report, but that every suggestion that has been made would still be available as part of the public record. Ms. Horowitz asked if the legislation that will be introduced to direct the proceeds of the sale of the property to mental health services would mention the support of the community for this proposal. Sen. Pippy responded that they would be involved in the process so their support would be evident. Ms. Horowitz then asked if Sen. Pippy and Rep. Kotik would be working with Rep. Frankel on this legislation, since he introduced it last year. They both answered yes. A gentleman asked the Task Force to consider the effects of deinstitutionalization on those patients being released into the community. He noted that his organization, AMI, does peer mentoring, which can be critical for those living in group homes. He also voiced concern that the Mayview property would be disposed of and the funding would disappear. Sen. Pippy responded that the funding allocation would have to come through legislation and would therefore require the support of at least a majority of the other members in the House and Senate. Robert Paul spoke about his concern for people who are released from Mayview without the proper support and end up self-medicating with drugs and/or alcohol. He noted that it costs a lot more to keep these people in prisons than to provide them with the support in the first place. Sen. Pippy said that he wanted to set up a meeting with DPW to talk about this issue separately. A lady asked if the final report produced by the Task Force would mention the numbers of people that attended the meetings in support of funding for mental health services. Sen. Pippy stated that it would not be in the final report but that the Task Force could add an appendix mentioning the various groups that had attended. Another lady noted that we need to have a paradigm shift where members of the mental health community were not treated separately from the rest of the community. She mentioned special concern for members of the military who are suffering from mental illnesses. She said that many people who receive mental health services go on to contribute to the communities in which they live. Albert Turkaso, a family member of someone with a mental illness, mentioned the current mortgage crisis and wondered if the state should hold on to the property until the housing crisis is over, as we may not be able to get a good price for it now. He also stated that once a fair price has been offered, we should have legislation in place to ensure that the proceeds go to mental health services. He also mentioned that the environment of Mayview should be preserved. Charlene Saner, a consumer of mental health services, said that she has had in the past two mental health episodes, but now is employed as a hospital administrator at Western Psych. She asked specifically if Senator Pippy endorses the establishment of a fund for mental health services. Sen. Pippy said that both he and Rep. Kotik support earmarking the proceeds or an amount equivalent to the proceeds for regional mental health services. Ms. Saner then voiced concerns about the previous estimate of $2 million for the property. Sen. Pippy noted that since we don’t have a valid appraisal, we have no idea what the real value of the property is. Jessica Seabury of Consumer Health Coalition expressed support for selling the property for the highest possible value. She noted that if the Commercial Village zoning category would provide a higher appraised value, we should hold off on the appraisal until that zoning has been completed. Sen. Pippy noted that regardless of the appraisal, the market price that the property eventually goes for will capture the real value of the property (for example, if the zoning had been changed to CV since the appraisal). Ms. Seabury then expressed concern that a developer would be able to buy the property directly from South Fayette Township. South Fayette indicated again that they had no interest in being involved in the development of the property. Ms. Seabury also noted her support for a memorial to those who suffer from mental illness. Sen. Pippy asked her to contact his office to set up a meeting to discuss the memorial. She then asked if Sen. Pippy and Rep. Kotik would champion the cause “from the inside”. Rep. Kotik responded that he and Sen. Pippy were united in their support for this cause and mentioned that both of them would be promoting it, but that it would be an uphill battle since it would set a precedent. Rev. Sally Jo Snyder, also of Consumer Health Coalition, thanked Sen. Pippy and Rep. Kotik for supporting the legislation and said that the community would work with them to convince the rest of the legislature. She noted that it would be wonderful to set a precedent of supporting the mental health community. Charlotte Frederick noted that she hopes that PA will set a precedent for the entire country when it comes to funding mental health. She said that we need to work as a community to strengthen those with physical and mental challenges. She also thanked Sen. Pippy, Rep. Kotik, and everyone in attendance for their support. Sarah Goldstein said that she was a resident of Mayview in 1992 and was followed by an ICM when she lived in county housing. She now works full time and is on the Governor’s Advisory Board for People with Disabilities. She said she doesn’t know where she would be without the community supports that were available to her. She asked for continuing funding for these supports to keep people safe and out of prison. Carol Horowitz asked how interested parties could receive advance notice about the sale of the property. Mr. Jones responded that it will be advertized on the DGS website and said that an email notification would also be sent out. Senator Pippy closed the meeting by stating that the Task Force would put out a draft report for review, which would be posted on the website. At the next meeting, changes to the draft would be discussed and the recommendations from the subcommittee on easements would be considered.
|
||||||||
