December 12, 2022 |
The Corbett Medical Foundation has provided Saratoga a way out of expensive deferred maintenance to their clinic building.
If the North Platte Valley Medical Center meets their scheduled early 2023 opening date, the Platte Valley Clinic, located in the Corbett Medical Building at 1208 South River Street, would move into the hospital. Once the Corbett Building is empty, Valley Village Childcare would like to occupy the space. Issues bringing the building up to state and federal daycare standards have brought to light the need for costly upgrades and repairs.
The Corbett Medical Foundation donated the building that bares its name to the town of Saratoga in November of 1994. It was agreed the Corbett Foundation would retain the right to say what type of business operates on the premises. The idea was to have something beneficial to the community as a whole, such as a medical clinic, or, in this case, a childcare facility, in the building. If the agreement were breached, ownership of the structure would revert to the Corbett Medical Foundation.
The 1994 agreement essentially made the town of Saratoga the landlord for the Corbett Medical Building. As such, the town is responsible for maintenance, which it has been delaying for some time. When Ellie Dana investigated moving the Valley Village Childcare to the location, she discovered several concerns, including inadequate water drainage, damage to the parking lot, and a need for a new roof. Dana is the Valley Village Childcare board’s vice-chairperson. She said fixing those problems would cost the town over half a million dollars. Dana told the town council about her alternative plan.
Pictured above: File photo of the Ray A. Corbett Medical Building. Photo by Bigfoot 99.
The 2016 Master Plan for Saratoga mentioned that a lack of childcare facilities was inhibiting growth of the town. Dana used the plan’s recommendations to ask the town council to utilize a specific regulation which would allow her organization to take ownership of the building.
The Corbett Medical Foundation has agreed to allow the town to sell the medical building to Valley Village Childcare for $1. Described as a Warranty Deed with Possibility of Reverter, the consent of sale states the building must be used for early childhood education and care. Mayor Creed James explained what happens if that stipulation isn’t met.
Valley Village Childcare would partner with ExCel Preschool to offer both services in one building. ExCel offers education and screening for preschool children. Dana explained the benefit of having everything under one roof.
Councilman Jon Nelson said he was concerned that the deed didn’t mention ExCel Preschool. Having both services occupy the same building would offer the greatest benefit to the community. He wanted to be sure the joint venture between the daycare and preschool was moving forward. The Valley Village board vice-chairperson said the preschool needed to be on board.
Dana explained she will be meeting with ExCel’s Executive Director Jaime Stine to come up with an agreement that addresses Councilman Nelson’s concerns. She said her organization would pick up the slack for the preschool and vice versa.
While the council agreed that selling the building to Valley Village Childcare would be better than continuing to be the landlord, there are legal steps that must be taken before signing the deed. Mayor James explained the rules that apply to this and a previous arrangement.
The mayor is referring to when the town attempted to trade valuable property to the owner of the Saratoga Hot Springs Resort for a small strip of land adjacent to the Never Forget Park’s proposed location. Mayor James had entered into a gentleman’s agreement to give the resort’s owner, Dr. Michael Janssen, town owned land before an appraisal was made. When the public was informed of how large of a price discrepancy there was between the two plots, the deal fell through.
The town is required to obtain three different appraisals for the Corbett Medical Building before hosting a series of public comment sessions. Mayor James said the decision to move forward with the deal would need to be made by the next council. Mayor-Elect Chuck Davis asked to begin the appraisal process as soon as possible.
The Valley Village vice-chairperson said her board would put up $2,500 towards the cost of the appraisals. The town council approved a motion providing up to $2,000 for the same purpose. With the holidays in full swing, the council was not optimistic they could find an appraiser before the new council was sworn in, but they said they would try.
The town council agrees that having the daycare and ExCel Preschool occupy the Corbett Medical Building would be a benefit to the community. Regulatory hurdles still need to be overcome but converting the clinic to a daycare center appears more likely with the new agreement.
