Aurora hospital deal wins approval

Four-win deal gives something to Oconomowoc, town of Summit and Pabst Farms in exchange for hospital

Waukesha Freeman, August 16, 2006

By ERIK BROOKS Freeman Staff

OCONOMOWOC Aurora Health Care will get its Pabst Farms hospital after all.

Fifty-five acres of land in the town of Summit will become a hospital under a settlement reached Tuesday between Aurora, the town, Oconomowoc and Pabst Farms.

In exchange, Aurora has agreed to ultimately dismiss its lawsuits against Oconomowoc and Waukesha County, bringing to an end years of legal wrangling over Auroras previously unsuccessful, and controversial, plans to build a hospital in Pabst Farms.

The Oconomowoc Common Council and the town of Summit board approved the deal at separate meetings Tuesday night.

Besides allowing for the hospital, the agreement also clears the way for construction of an up to $250 million, 121.5-acre retail complex proposed for another site Aurora had wanted for its facility.

Also, the deal could save Oconomowoc taxpayers millions of dollars.

Aurora has claimed in court documents filed in its case against the city that a common council vote in 2001 to block construction of a hospital on 43.5 acres of city land at Pabst Farms cost the hospital system $59 million. Mayor Maury Sullivan confirmed Tuesday that the citys insurance would have covered only $6 million of any damage award in a case that will now be dismissed should Aurora end up building in the town of Summit.

You are dealing with taxpayers money here, Sullivan said.

He called the agreement a four-win deal and later said each party has something to gain from this. Sullivan said the lawsuit was a distraction.

We are tired of five years of litigation, he said. There are other things we need to be talking about.  

Town of Summit Chairman Leonard Susa, who joined Sullivan at a press conference Tuesday evening at Oconomowoc City Hall to announce the settlement, agreed.

It is a good deal for all the citizens in the Lake Country area, he said.

Aurora was probably the biggest winner of all.

The health care system gets to build what could be a 360,000-square-foot, 88-bed hospital and 100,000-squarefoot clinic after years of setbacks.

Sue Ela, president of Auroras Kettle Moraine Region, said she hopes groundbreaking will happen in six months, and construction will take between 18 months and 24.

It was much longer than we had hoped, she said in an interview, adding that final design details of the hospital are still being worked out. We have always been committed to making it happen. We intend to make that commitment real.  Aurora first proposed building the Pabst Farms hospital on the acreage northeast of Interstate 94 and Highway 67 in the city. Those plans fell through when the common council voted to rezone the parcel to block its construction.

Aurora sued the city in 2001, while also continuing its search for a suitable site for a hospital in western Waukesha County. It settled on Pabst Farms again, but this time on 55 acres across I-94 in the town of Summit.

The town backed those plans, but the Waukesha County board overturned its decision, voting down the zoning and master plan changes necessary for the project to proceed.

Aurora and the town then jointly sued the county over that decision.

Tuesdays agreement should take the decision out of the countys hands.

Terms of the 10-page memorandum of understanding include the city agreeing to initiate the extraterritorial zoning (ETZ) process on the Pabst Farms land in the town in order to have the land be rezoned institutional, which allows for a hospital, from agricultural, which does not. ETZ allows cities to rezone land outside of their boundaries.

Also under the deal, Aurora will put on hold its lawsuits against the city and county over its failed building plans. And once the ETZ process is complete and the town land is rezoned, Aurora will move to dismiss both lawsuits.

Positive reaction

Pabst Farms officials praised the settlement, saying it validates the 1,500-acre developments original land use plan, which calls for the town of Summit land south of I-94 and north of Highway DR to be part of its Health and Wellness Campus. Pabst Farms all along wanted the Aurora land in the city for its retail development, a partnership with mall developer General Growth Properties announced in June. That can now be a reality, said Peter Bell, president of Pabst Farms Development LLC.

You just have to stay the course and do it right, he said.

The Oconomowoc Common Council and town of Summit board voted overwhelmingly in support of the settlement agreement and the ETZ efforts.

The town passed both unanimously, 5-0. The city votes were 6-0, with Alderman James Larsen abstaining and Joe Snyder not in attendance.

After the meeting, Larsen declined comment on why he abstained.

Town of Summit board member Elaine Kraut praised the settlement.

When the town residents become truly knowledgeable about whats been accomplished here, they will realize the quality of life in the town is now assured for the future, she said.

Several Waukesha County board members were hesitant to discuss Tuesdays agreement. County Executive Dan Vrakas said his understanding of the agreement means the matter is no longer a county decision, though he is hopeful a new hospital will not lead to an increase in already high area health care costs.

With regard to affordable health care, its not a debate for the county (board), but a lot of people obviously are concerned about that, Vrakas said.