Summit-city deal means hospital's coming

Oconomowoc Focus, August 17, 2006

Jonna Clark
Staff Writer

City of Oconomowoc - In one fell swoop, the city, the Town of Summit, Aurora Health Care and Pabst Farms wrapped up and delivered an agreement that appears to give all parties what they want in what has been popularly called the "hospital war."

Unless you're one of those "not another hospital" types, that is.

The deal announced Tuesday effectively means the long-debated, oft-litigated, proposed 88-bed hospital in Pabst Farms is a sure thing.

Mayor Maury Sullivan and Town Board Chairman Len Susa met with the media Tuesday to outline a "memorandum of understanding" that was approved by the City Council on Tuesday night and, in effect, ends the five-year debate over whether a new hospital will be built, and where.

The Town Board also met Tuesday night and, for its part, unanimously approved the agreement.

The agreement, when fully implemented, will end all litigation related to plans for an Aurora hospital in the City of Oconomowoc. Lawsuits are now pending against the city and Waukesha County.

The agreement clears the way for construction of a million-square-foot shopping and entertainment complex in Pabst Farms on the 43-acre parcel that Aurora had originally targeted for its hospital. It also affords Aurora Health Care its long-sought 88-bed hospital and clinic, expected to replace the city's aging Wilkinson Clinic.

In 2001, the city rezoned the land in question to block Aurora from building a not-for-profit entity in the special financing district set up for Pabst Farms.

A lawsuit and much controversy followed and led Aurora to the Town of Summit and a triangular parcel on the other side of I-94 for its hospital. Aurora officials, while remaining committed to the Oconomowoc site, said at the time that they would prefer to build at the Summit location. Another lawsuit erupted when the Waukesha County Board voted down the town's request to amend its master plan to allow a hospital there.

The town has since sought to incorporate as a way to be able to determine its own destiny, most notably to allow Aurora to build but also to control its borders.

The new agreement between the city and town fixes permanent boundaries between the municipalities, effectively resolving past disputes related to that issue.

Under the agreement, the city will begin the process of exercising its extraterritorial rights to rezone the 155-acre triangular parcel in Pabst Farms in the town, circumventing county involvement and leading the way for Aurora to build its medical campus, including a new Wilkinson Clinic.

The agreement also lays the groundwork for construction of a fire station that will be jointly operated by the city and the town. The new fire station will be in Pabst Farms in the city on a 3-acre parcel donated by Pabst Farms.

In 2004, Aurora proposed to make $2.7 million in payments in lieu of taxes to the Town of Summit in exchange for permission to construct the proposed hospital. That offer is no longer on the table, but, according to Susa, new negotiations for another plan for payment in lieu of taxes can now begin.

The agreement also involves a land swap between the city and the town, whereby a 230-acre parcel on the south side of Valley Road will become city land.

Speaking at a press conference before the City Council meeting, Sullivan and Susa stood in a united front.

Sullivan thanked the city and town staff and the slew of attorneys for all parties involved for their hard work in hammering out the agreement, and expressed relief that agreement had been reached.

"This issue has been a divisive element in the city and has occupied a great deal of staff time and energy," he said. "It is time to get this issue behind us."

Susa said he was encouraged and happy for the people of the town, who will be getting not only a state-of-the-art medical campus and an updated fire station, but also fixed boundaries.

"I believe there will now be much more cooperation between our neighbors and a lot more friendlier intergovernmental conversations in the future," he said.