============================================================ Health Options Digest May 11, 2002 Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield ============================================================ * EDITOR'S LETTER * CALENDAR 1.xx - Wed 5/15 - Lane County Board of Commissioners * LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 2.rg - Cities must cooperate 3.rg - False benevolence 4.rg - Constituents ignored * MAJOR NEWS 5.rg - City supports hospital annex 6.sn - City moves ahead on PeaceHealth 7.sn - Kelly: City will benefit 8.sn - FEMA specialist may have overstated McKenzie River flood threats 9.rg - Hospitals to discuss settlement 10.rg - Hearing examines allegation of tying * OTHER NEWS 11.sn - City agrees to annex Eagle's Flight 12.rg - Developer Arlie offers LCC complex plan of land swaps 13.rg - Doctors battle imaging center * CONTACTS, OTHER LINKS, KEY, CREDITS ===================== EDITOR'S LETTER ==================== This Wednesday, the Lane Board of County Commissioners will hold a public hearing and take action on funding priorities for state highway projects in Lane County for the 2004-2007 funding cycle. Topping the list is additional money for the Beltline/I-5 interchange. We hear that if Lane County can secure $5 million in local matching funds and are willing to forgo funding for any other projects this cycle, they may be able to get another $17 million from ODOT for Beltline/I-5 (#1). Readers write to the editor that Eugene and Springfield should cooperate more (#2), that PeaceHealth is bullying the community (#3), and that City Councilor David Kelly favored tearing down housing to make room for an expanded PeaceHealth hospital (#4). Last Monday, the Springfield City Council voted unanimously to support PeaceHealth's proposal to annex additional land in the Gateway area into the Springfield city limits. The Boundary Commission will make the final decision on the request in June. PeaceHealth is close to signing an agreement with the city whereby it would provide payments for various needed services (#5, #6, #7). A FEMA specialist may have overstated the threat of flooding from the McKeznie River (#8). Last Friday, a federal judge hear arguments on PeaceHealth's motion to throw out McKenzie-Willamette's anti-trust lawsuit against it (#9, #10). Having supported PeaceHealth's annexation request, the Springfield City Council also supported the proposed Eagle's Flight annexation in the Thurston area (#11). Finally, John Musumeci of Arlie & Co. appears to be spinning another deal, this time with LCC (#12). Eventually all things merge into one, and a road runs through it. Keep your eye on funding for roads! Rob Zako, Editor 343-5201 rzako@efn.org ======================== CALENDAR ======================== ------------------------------------------------------------ 1.xx - WED 5/15 - LANE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ------------------------------------------------------------ Wednesday, May 15 1:30 p.m. (time approximate) - Lane Board of County Commissioners regular meeting. Item # 13b - Public hearing and order in the matter of adopting a countywide priority listing for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) FY 2004-2007 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). Contact Tom Stinchfield. Commissioners' Conference Room, Public Service Building, 125 East 8th Ave., Eugene, 682-4203. Agenda: http://www.co.lane.or.us/BCC_info/Meeting_info/2002/Agenda02-5-14.htm ================== LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ================= ------------------------------------------------------------ 2.rg - CITIES MUST COOPERATE ------------------------------------------------------------ By Jack Stevens, Eugene In The Register-Guard, 5/7/02 Springfield, Springfield, rah, rah, rah! Beat Eugene! Sis boom bah! Intense rivalry between high schools is not healthy, and phony competition between communities as closely tied as Eugene and Springfield is downright dangerous. Eugene did not "lose" Symantec. Sacred Heart is not "abandoning" Eugene. Both are, and will be, still here, serving our entire community. Other so-called twin cities try to outdo each other to the detriment of both. Let's not fall into that trap. Eugene-Springfield is one metropolitan area under two names. Both cities share services with the other. As has been pointed out, Springfield processes Eugene's mail and Eugene processes Springfield's sewage. Cooperation benefits everybody. (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020507/ed.letters.0507.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 3.rg - FALSE BENEVOLENCE ------------------------------------------------------------ By Michael Tucker, Junction City In The Register-Guard, 5/11/02 I read with amusement the May 7 article regarding PeaceHealth's proposed move to Springfield. Much ado is made of money that PeaceHealth will have to expend to consummate the plan, and little of citizens' concerns about local flooding. As I read on, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. PeaceHealth CEO Alan Yordy wants to assure everyone that the health care company only wants to " ... work for the betterment of the entire community." As an employee of McKenzie-Willamette Hospital, I find this statement laughable at the least and mendacious at the worst. The current lawsuit between the hospitals is definitely not good for the community, and PeaceHealth's apparent lack of concern for the citizenry of Springfield cannot be expected to improve as it bullies its way through the community. It's one thing to use abundant resources to increase market share; just don't package it as benevolence. (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020511/ed.lettersop.0511.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 4.rg - CONSTITUENTS IGNORED ------------------------------------------------------------ By Russell Glen Chorlton, Eugene In The Register-Guard, 5/11/02 The proper role of an elected official is to represent constituents. Decisions should be made publicly, and the interests of the people must be considered. Eugene City Councilor David Kelly has a history of ignoring the concerns of Eugeneans. Last year when Kelly and Councilor Bonny Bettman attempted to force Sacred Heart Medical Center to expand at its current location, the two councilors made a backroom deal that could have led to the razing of six blocks of high density residential housing and small businesses to provide room for the hospital's expansion. The decision was made behind closed doors without the public's knowledge or consent. Had Kelly's plan succeeded, hundreds of Eugeneans would be looking for new homes in an already crowded housing market. Tearing down high-density housing is not in keeping with the council's plan for growth management. Evicting hundreds from their homes without warning or cause is not in keeping with the role of a representative. Kelly is guided not by his concern for constituents but by a personal agenda that ignores the citizens he supposedly represents. We have a chance to make a change. Let's not let Kelly's hubris dominate city politics any longer. (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020511/ed.lettersop.0511.html ======================= MAJOR NEWS ======================= ------------------------------------------------------------ 5.rg - CITY SUPPORTS HOSPITAL ANNEX ------------------------------------------------------------ By Matt Cooper The Register-Guard, 5/7/02, Page 1B Springfield -- The City Council on Monday unanimously supported annexing 59 acres of PeaceHealth property near the Gateway area, advancing the organization's efforts to submit plans soon for a $350 million hospital and the 160 acres around it. Council President Lyle Hatfield, in addressing concerns that the hospital's proximity to the McKenzie River raises the specter of flooding, said it makes more sense to annex the land and subject PeaceHealth to the city's development approval process. "Do I want the site plan, the master plan, all of those processes to go through the planning commission and City Council?" Hatfield asked. "The answer is yes." With the council's support, PeaceHealth hopes to seal the annexation at a June 6 hearing before the Lane County Local Government Boundary Commission. The health organization plans to submit a development plan to the city by the end of June, and would like to break ground next year on a hospital slated to open in 2006. The council last week postponed its decision on the annexation, citing the need for information on the roads, storm water drainage and other urban services that PeaceHealth will provide. The city and PeaceHealth came to terms on most of those services later in the week. PeaceHealth has agreed to pay $10.2 million for off-site transportation improvements, including $2.25 million for expansion of Pioneer Parkway. The hospital already has agreed to contribute $2.75 million toward extension of the roadway from Harlow Road to Belt Line Road, through the hospital area. The health organization also will provide urban services to the site; perform a flood plain study and determine ways to protect neighbors from flooding; and provide a payment, in lieu of taxes, to offset the cost of city services through 2020, or until property tax revenue generated by properties near the hospital equals that of projections for housing development at the site. While agreeing to forward the annexation resolution to the boundary commission, the council has yet to sign off on the agreement that binds PeaceHealth to provide roads and other urban services. The city and PeaceHealth continue to negotiate two details: clauses providing for termination of the agreement, and the point at which PeaceHealth will be required to start making contributions to off-site transportation. City Manager Mike Kelly said he hopes to present an agreement for council approval prior to the June 6 boundary commission meeting. Nearby residents and others have argued that PeaceHealth is moving too fast in light of flooding concerns and the absence of development details. But PeaceHealth Chief Executive Officer Alan Yordy said the health organization has endured a "very expensive delay" in postponing its hearing before the commission from January to June. "We are two cities, but we are one community," Yordy told the audience. "We hope whatever development takes place here will ultimately work for the betterment of the entire community." Proponents noted that Monday's decision hinged solely on whether urban services could be provided to the site. But critics questioned the area's ability to handle a flood, the absence of studies to determine traffic impacts and the potential that building the huge medical center could overshadow the city's longtime community hospital, McKenzie-Willamette. "Is this really the best site for such a significant development?" asked Lauri Segel, local planning advocate for the land use group 1000 Friends of Oregon. PeaceHealth has said it will build in compliance with city codes and flood plain conditions for the 102.5-acre hospital property -- of which about 10 percent is in the flood plain -- and the 59-acres to the northeast, of which about 85 to 90 percent in within the flood plain. Regarding the perception that PeaceHealth would push out a competing hospital, Hatfield said, "I don't think this city is going to let McKenzie-Willamette Hospital disappear." (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020507/1b.cr.peacehealth.0507.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 6.sn - CITY MOVES AHEAD ON PEACEHEALTH ------------------------------------------------------------ By Tim Shinabarger The Springfield News, 5/8/02 PeaceHealth, the hospital group that wants to site a $350-million hospital in Gateway, will dedicate land and pay $10.2 million for transportation improvements if it gets its entire property annexed into Springfield. City councilors took a big step in that direction Monday, initiating annexation for 59 acres PeaceHealth owns, most of it between Baldy View Lane and the McKenzie River. The land is next to 102 acres PeaceHealth owns between Game Farm Road and Baldy View that the city annexed last year. Councilors adopted a resolution recommending the Lane County Boundary Commission annex the property. The commission meets on June 6. City councilors postponed the issue last week after hearing public testimony that they should first finalize an annexation agreement with PeaceHealth. That agreement is complete now except for a few details that can be finished in time for the boundary commission meeting, City Manager Mike Kelly told the council. As part of the agreement, PeaceHealth will: * Contribute $10.2 million to the city for off-site transportation improvements. Of that amount, $7 million is for improvements to the Gateway/Beltline Road intersection and $2.25 million is for the Pioneer Parkway extension project. * Provide in-lieu of tax payments to the city until the year 2020. Between now and 2020, that payment equals a total of about $3.2 million. * Dedicate and improve to full city standards two connector streets: an east-west connector between Game Farm Road South and Baldy View Lane and a north-south connector from Deadmond Ferry Road to the south edge of the property near Wayside Loop subdivision. * Provide sanitary sewer and drainage systems, internal roads and internal pedestrian facilities. * Provide a flood-plain analysis showing the impacts of fill proposed to be placed within the development site. * Reserve a riparian corridor at least 75 feet wide along the McKenzie River. The city agreed that PeaceHealth may acquire up to 25 acres of additional land zoned for medium-density residential use. Upon acquiring half of that amount of land and getting it annexed, PeaceHealth will contribute an additional $750,000. The annexation agreement will apply to the additional land. That land has not been identified yet, city planner Colin Stephens said. City attorneys specified prior to a public hearing on the subject that the criteria for annexation are whether the city can provide key urban services to a property -- things such as sewer, water and police services. Concerns about flooding aren't relevant to those criteria, attorney Meg Kieran said. Three neighbors testified and all said the property is subject to flooding. Anne Heinsoo, a member of Game Farm Neighbors, said, "even when tempted by power and influence, our City Council should have the courage to say no." Tom Bowerman, whose property is across the river from the site, said, "No one will say there are not risks. On this annexation site, the river has said, 'I have been there before, and I will be there again.' " By annexing the land, he said, the council is exposing the city to liability and giving up negotiating power. City Council President Lyle Hatfield said the city has better leverage if it annexes the land, because the Springfield Planning Commission and City Council will have review power over PeaceHealth's master plan. He said the risk of flooding is "exceedingly small." The council vote to initiate annexation was unanimous. "We know this is just the first small step of many, many steps we will have to take here," PeaceHealth Oregon Region Chief Executive Officer Alan Yordy said afterward. "It sends a very clear message about the opportunity to work together on a site (master) plan." PeaceHealth will involve the city and neighbors of its property in working on the master plan for the property, Yordy said. (end) http://springfieldnews.com/2002/news0508/frontpage/sn_frontpage-03.htm#TopOfPage ------------------------------------------------------------ 7.sn - KELLY: CITY WILL BENEFIT ------------------------------------------------------------ By Tim Shinabarger The Springfield News, 5/8/02 The in-lieu of tax payment PeaceHealth will pay the city according to its new annexation agreement is important, City Manager Mike Kelly said Tuesday. The payment will equal the tax revenue the city would get if the 180-acre site were developed with medium-density residential housing, Kelly said. That is what it's now zoned for. Between now and 2020, that tax revenue equals a total of about $3.2 million, according to appraiser John Brown, whose numbers the parties will use. "They are tax-exempt and we were concerned about, with a (nonprofit) hospital, how much of the property's going to be taxable," Kelly said. The city's intention was to make sure it didn't provide "public subsidies" to PeaceHealth and to make sure it received an appropriate tax value, he said. The city is confident that by 2020 the PeaceHealth land will have enough commercial development on it that the taxable value of the property and of surrounding land will exceed the tax revenue that medium-density residential housing would provide to the city, he said. The hospital will be on 30 acres, Kelly said. In addition, the property eventually will include medical office buildings, congregate-care assisted living facilities and a node of commercial development including restaurants, all of which will generate city taxes, he said. When it gets its hospital up and running, PeaceHealth will be the largest employer in Springfield, Kelly said. (end) http://www.springfieldnews.com/2002/news0508/community/sn_community-01.htm#TopOfPage ------------------------------------------------------------ 8.sn - FEMA SPECIALIST MAY HAVE OVERSTATED MCKENZIE RIVER FLOOD THREATS ------------------------------------------------------------ By Tim Shinabarger The Springfield News, 5/11/02 A federal hazard specialist's March warning that federal maps underestimate the severity of McKenzie River flood activities may have overstated the case, city staff say. Joe Weber, a Federal Emergency Management Agency natural hazards specialist, told city councilors March 25 the FEMA maps may be wrong. Weber suggested city staff recalculate data FEMA has on file and said the city has a good case for a federal re-drawing of the map. The FEMA map is designed to provide official flood insurance information. FEMA mapped the 100-year flood plain in 1985. Agency staff took cross-section measurements at points several thousand feet from one another along the length of the river. The difference in elevation from one point to another should have been no greater than 6 inches, but it showed a 10-foot elevation change in some places, Weber told city councilors. He contended FEMA staff should have taken more measurements from points closer together to make their data more accurate. Weber started checking the data soon after his Springfield visit, City Engineer Al Peroutka said. Weber took the existing model for the flood plain and did the revisions he thought needed to be made to make it more accurate, using a computer model and putting more cross sections into the model, Peroutka said. Running the data with more cross-sections, Weber found elevation changes of no more than 6 inches in any area and no cumulative error, Peroutka said. City planner Jim Donovan presented testimony to that effect to city councilors Monday prior to a public hearing on the proposed five-acre Eagle's Flight subdivision annexation on North 66th Street. Weber's findings are preliminary and he hasn't submitted written official findings to the city yet, Peroutka said. Weber's telephone voice-mail message states that he's been temporarily re-assigned while a FEMA administrator is on extended leave. Calls to Weber's office were not returned. http://www.springfieldnews.com/news/community/sn_community-02.htm#TopOfPage http://www.springfieldnews.com/2002/news0511/community/sn_community-02.htm#TopOfPage ------------------------------------------------------------ 9.rg - HOSPITALS TO DISCUSS SETTLEMENT ------------------------------------------------------------ By Tim Christie The Register-Guard, 5/8/02, Page 1D Though a trial date is still more than a year off, McKenzie-Willamette Hospital's antitrust lawsuit against PeaceHealth could be reaching a turning point. U.S. Magistrate Thomas Coffin has ordered a settlement conference May 30, where "the presence of all parties with settlement authority is required." Whether either side is willing to settle could hinge on two pending developments: On Friday, Coffin will hear oral arguments on a motion by PeaceHealth to throw out part of McKenzie-Willamette's allegation that PeaceHealth used its market power to compete unfairly in negotiating insurance contracts. On Saturday in Eugene, an unidentified Portland marketing firm plans to ask a focus group about legal issues related to the two hospitals, according to a woman who was recruited for the event. McKenzie-Willamette is an independent community hospital in Springfield. PeaceHealth, based in Bellevue, Wash., is the corporate parent of Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene. In a suit filed in January in federal court, McKenzie-Willamette accused PeaceHealth of wielding its dominant market power to unfair advantage, specifically by the way it negotiates preferred provider agreements with Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon. McKenzie-Willamette alleged that PeaceHealth offered Regence deep discounts for two services where it has no competition -- cardiovascular and neonatal intensive care -- and in return, demanded that customers in the Regence plan go to Sacred Heart for all other care. It's not clear who hired the marketing firm to conduct the focus group. McKenzie-Willamette has not hired any firm to assemble such a focus group, spokeswoman Rosie Pryor said Tuesday. PeaceHealth has hired polling and marketing firms in the past to take the community's temperature on various issues, such as its plan for a new hospital in north Springfield. But spokesman Brian Terrett said he wasn't aware of PeaceHealth sponsoring a focus group or mock trial this Saturday. "It doesn't sound like anything we would be doing right now," he said. Sherry Narens of Eugene was called at home Monday night by someone representing a Portland firm who asked her if she would be interested in participating in the focus group, for which she would be paid $75. The caller asked if she worked or had a relative or close friend who worked at PeaceHealth or any of its hospitals, McKenzie-Willamette, or Regence BlueCross BlueShield. The caller asked Narens if she was familiar with several individuals, including Alan Yordy, chief executive of PeaceHealth in Oregon. Narens, an actress and writer, said she was disqualified because she works part time as a legal secretary for a lawyer. "My first thought was that basically PeaceHealth was deciding whether or not to settle," she said. Richard Price, an antitrust lawyer at the Portland firm Tonkon Torp, said she could be on the right track. "It's very possible that's part of what's going on," said Price, who is not associated with either side in the local lawsuit. Various legal consultants hire focus groups, "in which the parties are represented and put their best case forward and try to get reactions to different lines of argument," Price said. A focus group can give a defendant more information about the potential risk of liability, or a plaintiff more information about the likelihood of a jury award, which could affect the settlement value of a case, he said. How the judge decides on the first legal skirmish in the case also may influence the willingness of either party to settle, Price said. On Friday, Coffin will hear arguments on whether to throw out McKenzie-Willamette's allegation that PeaceHealth engaged in an illegal agreement in its preferred provider contract with Regence. It's one of seven antitrust claims McKenzie-Willamette has made against PeaceHealth. PeaceHealth lawyers contend the facts as presented by McKenzie-Willamette don't support the allegation that PeaceHealth engaged in an illegal "tying" scheme in its contract with Regence. In antitrust law, it's illegal for a dominant competitor to link two products, for instance, by telling customers that if they want to buy one product they must also buy a second product. McKenzie-Willamette officials contend "tying" also can mean coercing a customer into not doing business with a competitor, something they allege PeaceHealth did with Regence. How Coffin decides the question could add impetus to the settlement conference at the end of the month. Before the conference, each side must submit to Coffin a settlement document "in which they state realistic proposals they are willing to make or accept to resolve this case." Specifically, each side must submit two settlement proposals: one which "you believe is fair," and one "you would be willing to make in order to conclude the matter and stop the expense of litigation," Coffin said in his order. They must also submit to Coffin a brief analysis of the key issues in the case; the strongest and weakest point in their case and their opponents' case; and the status of settlement negotiations. Coffin will keep the information confidential and use it to help him try to forge an agreement. Through his law clerk, Coffin declined an interview request Tuesday. Attorneys said it has become increasingly common for a judge to bring the parties together in an effort to settle a lawsuit before trial. "That is very standard procedure," said Stu Hennessy, PeaceHealth corporate counsel. "Settlement conference are quite common on federal and state litigation," said David Jewett, McKenzie-Willamette's local counsel. "It was clear everyone was willing to agree to attempt to discuss a settlement under the court-sponsored settlement procedure." Price, the Portland attorney, said the judge may be trying to get a settlement early on in the case because antitrust cases "are very expensive to prosecute and very expensive to defend." http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020508/1d.cr.hospitals.0508.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 10.rg - HEARING EXAMINES ALLEGATION OF TYING ------------------------------------------------------------ By Tim Christie The Register-Guard, 5/11/02, Page 1B Lawyers for McKenzie-Willamette and PeaceHealth hospitals met in a courtroom for the first time Friday, arguing the finer points of federal antitrust law before U.S. Magistrate Thomas Coffin. The hearing, which lasted a little more than an hour, concerned a motion by PeaceHealth to throw out part of McKenzie-Willamette's antitrust suit against PeaceHealth. McKenzie-Willamette, an independent community hospital in Springfield, filed suit in January, accusing its larger rival of using the predatory tactics of a monopoly to compete unfairly for health insurance contracts. McKenzie-Willamette wants PeaceHealth, the Bellevue-based parent of Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, to pay economic damages of $15 million and punitive damages of $20 million -- sums that would triple under antitrust law. McKenzie-Willamette's complaint concerns preferred provider contracts that PeaceHealth negotiated with Regence BlueCross BlueShield. McKenzie-Willamette has alleged that PeaceHealth offered Regence two pricing schemes: If PeaceHealth was the exclusive provider in the contract, then PeaceHealth would give cut rates for so-called tertiary services -- cardiovascular and neonatal care -- that are offered locally only at Sacred Heart. But if McKenzie-Willamette was included as a preferred provider, then PeaceHealth would charge inflated prices for those services, the suit says. One of the seven claims in the suit alleges PeaceHealth engaged in an illegal "tying" scheme with Regence. Under antitrust law, it's illegal for a dominant competitor to tie together two products, for instance by telling a customer that if he wants to buy one product, he must buy a second product, like it or not. PeaceHealth attorneys have demanded that part of the suit be thrown out, saying the facts presented by McKenzie-Willamette don't fit the tying allegation under antitrust law. On Friday, Coffin directed most of his questions to Jim Sneed, a Washington, D.C., lawyer representing PeaceHealth. The judge's questions focused on what constitutes tying, what products or services were involved, and whether the legal theory fits in this case. Sneed said McKenzie-Willamette's tying allegation doesn't pass legal muster because Regence was never forced into buying something it didn't want to buy. "PeaceHealth never said you can't buy X if you don't buy Y," he said. "Tying is forcing someone to do something they don't want to do." Regence had other insurance agreements, aside from its preferred-provider organization, that gave other options for obtaining services from PeaceHealth, he said. Kelly Hagen, a Portland lawyer representing McKenzie-Willamette, told Coffin that PeaceHealth's definition of tying was "far too rigid." The key question, he said, is whether PeaceHealth was exploiting its market power to force contract terms in a way it wouldn't try in a truly competitive market. Coffin said he was confused and found "odd" one aspect of the tying allegation: Why wouldn't Regence want both the tertiary services and the rest of the "acute" hospital services? Hagen said Regence would have liked to include McKenzie-Willamette in its preferred provider contract, "and the tie-in of price made it impossible." Coffin didn't indicate when he would issue his written decision on PeaceHealth's motion. (end) http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020511/1b.cr.antitrust.0511.html ======================= OTHER NEWS ======================= ------------------------------------------------------------ 11.sn - CITY AGREES TO ANNEX EAGLE'S FLIGHT ------------------------------------------------------------ By Tim Shinabarger The Springfield News, 5/8/02 "Engineering" topped "anecdotal evidence" Monday as Springfield city councilors initiated annexation of five acres on North 66th Street proposed for the 30-lot Eagle's Flight subdivision. The subdivision proposal came before the council Feb. 4, but the council voted to deny it, citing flood plain and stormwater concerns. It rescinded its decision two weeks later in favor of gathering more information. Three fact-finding work sessions and a town hall where local residents testified about flood issues followed. In a public hearing on the Eagle's Flight annexation Monday, attorney Douglas DuPriest said Cedar Creek, the waterway that drains the property, is already at capacity, tends to flood and is polluted. DuPriest, who represented Rural Thurston Inc., a neighborhood group, said putting a subdivision on North 66th Street will add to the problem. He called for the city to deny the annexation. Neighbor Cheryl Platt said if the subdivision is built with fill material that raises buildings above the flood elevation, it will displace flood water toward other properties when the river floods. "It puts those of us who have established homes and farms at greater risk," she said. Dave Jewett, the attorney who represented Eagle's Flight owners John and Patricia Shama, said the Springfield Development Code governs development in the flood plain. "This property is appropriate for development regardless of whether it's in the flood plain," Jewett said. "... All the evidence of good quality indicates that the property is not in the flood plain." Brenda Leavitt, a neighbor of the property, said she took offense at Jewett's testimony. Neighbors have photographs of floods in the 1940s that covered the area, she said. "Was the elevation of this property lower in 1943? No, it was not," Leavitt said. To Jewett's testimony about reliable evidence, she asked, "Is he calling us liars?" City Councilor Fred Simmons said, "Having watched the water in that area in my lifetime, there's something wrong with the numbers." Based on the hydrological and engineering information that was submitted, "the applicant has made the case for approval," Simmons said. "Dumb as it is. I think that site will flood." Still, Simmons said, "I am bound by the process, as much as I dislike it, to support the applicant." Dave Ralston said, "To me, it's obvious that Cedar Creek can not handle the run-off. It's also my opinion that the property is in the flood plain." If the city annexes the property and the developer uses fill to raise structures above the flood elevation, "they put all the other property owners at risk and I'm not willing to support that," he said. Council President Lyle Hatfield said dams built in the 1960s changed the way the area behaves. The 1996 flood didn't touch the property, he said. The council vote to support annexation was 5-1, with Ralston opposed. The Lane County Boundary Commis-sion decides annexations; it meets June 6. Interviewed after the meeting, Jewett said, "With all due respect to Mr. Ralston, the small development that's contemplated here will have a negligible effect on the other properties." Nobody is questioning the good faith of the neighbors, Jewett said. "We think it's important to rely on appropriate engineering and scientific information," he said. "FEMA -- they don't just go out and stick their finger in the wind -- (they) ran a scientific analysis." EGR & Associates, a private firm, also ran a scientific analysis of the flood plain, he said. Eric Gossler, who lives northeast of the property, said, "I think a year ago when this first started, we had a chance." When PeaceHealth's proposed Gateway-area hospital got tied in, it put a spotlight on flood plain issues and city councilors suddenly realized millions of dollars are available in the flood plain, he said. "Once this PeaceHealth thing got rolling, they all got scared because they realized if they ruled (against Eagle's Flight), it would screw it (for PeaceHealth)," Gossler said. (end) http://springfieldnews.com/2002/news0508/frontpage/sn_frontpage-01.htm#TopOfPage ------------------------------------------------------------ 12.rg - DEVELOPER ARLIE OFFERS LCC COMPLEX PLAN OF LAND SWAPS ------------------------------------------------------------ By Christian Wihtol and Greg Bolt The Register-Guard, 5/10/02, Page 1A Within weeks of buying 1,100 acres of forest land south of Lane Community College in January, land speculator John Musumeci set to work trying to win over LCC executives on a series of land-swap and development proposals, public records show. So far, though, LCC is keeping Musumeci at arm's length. (more...) http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020510/1a.arlie.0510.html ------------------------------------------------------------ 13.rg - DOCTORS BATTLE IMAGING CENTER ------------------------------------------------------------ By Tim Christie The Register-Guard, 5/11/02, Page 3B In 1999, a group of local doctors joined forces with a Virginia company to jointly operate a high-tech medical imaging center in Springfield's Gateway district. Three years later, the center is still operating, but the business relationship has disintegrated into competing lawsuits that allege bad faith and breach of contract. (more...) http://www.registerguard.com/news/20020511/3b.cr.mrisuit.0511.html ======================== CONTACTS ======================== ------------------------------------------------------------ CHOICES ------------------------------------------------------------ P.O. Box 70753, Eugene 97401 choices@efn.org Jan Wilson, Coordinator 341-1380 jswilson@efn.org Rob Zako, Editor, Email List Manager 343-5201 rzako@efn.org Steering Committee choices_steering@efn.org Announcements and Discussion Email List choices-l@efn.org ------------------------------------------------------------ SPRINGFIELD NEWS ------------------------------------------------------------ 746-1671, 746-0633 (fax) 1887 Laurel St., Springfield 97477 news@springfieldnews.com http://www.springfieldnews.com Shinabarger, Tim 746-1671 x316 ------------------------------------------------------------ REGISTER-GUARD ------------------------------------------------------------ 485-1234, 683-7631 (newsroom fax) http://www.registerguard.com Register-Guard Mailbag (Letters to the Editor) 485-1234 x2351, 338-2828 (fax) P.O. Box 10188, Eugene 97440-2188 RGLetters@guardnet.com McCowan, Karen (Columnist) kmccowan@guardnet.com Christie, Tim (Health & Medicine) tchristie@guardnet.com Cooper, Matt (Springfield and East Region) 338-2317 mcooper@guardnet.com eastnews@guardnet.com Dietz, Diane (Eugene City Government) ddietz@guardnet.com Haberman, Margaret (City Editor) rgnews@guardnet.com Wihtol, Christian (Business Editor) cwihtol@guardnet.com ------------------------------------------------------------ EUGENE WEEKLY ------------------------------------------------------------ 484-0519, 484-4044 (fax) 1251 Lincoln St., Eugene 97401-3418 http://www.eugeneweekly.com Ted Taylor (Editor, Letters to the Editor) editor@eugeneweekly.com ------------------------------------------------------------ SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL ------------------------------------------------------------ 726-3700, 726-2363 225 Fifth St., Springfield, OR 97477 http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/ http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/calendar.htm http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/dsd/dept_dsd.htm http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/dsd/Planning/index.htm http://www.ci.springfield.or.us/dsd/Planning/Planning_Commission.htm Ballew, Anne (Ward 3) 744-9324 953 C St., Springfield, OR 97477 aballew@clippernet.com Fitch, Tammy (Ward 2) 747-6287 1102 West D St., Springfield, OR 97477 tfitch@ci.springfield.or.us, Fhins@fitch-huggins.com Hatfield, Lyle (Ward 6) 746-6684 518 North 68th Pl., Springfield, OR 97478 lylehatfield@attbi.com Leiken, Sid (Mayor) 726-9848 196 38th Pl., Springfield, OR 97478 mayor@ci.springfield.or.us, sid@maoregon.com Lundberg, Christine (Ward 1) 747-0571 127 Woodlane Dr., Springfield, OR 97477 CKLundberg@Prodigy.net Ralston, Dave (Ward 4) 746-7081 2114 L St., Springfield, OR 97477 chess714@msn.com, Simmons, Fred (Ward 5) 747-4283 312 South 52nd Pl., Springfield, OR 97478 fsimmons@ci.springfield.or.us ------------------------------------------------------------ EUGENE CITY COUNCIL ------------------------------------------------------------ 682-5010 777 Pearl St., Room 105, Eugene 97401 mayorandcc@ci.eugene.or.us http://www.ci.eugene.or.us/ http://www.ci.eugene.or.us/Council/Agenda/AGENDA.htm http://www.ci.eugene.or.us/council/agenda/CCAGENDA.pdf Bettman, Bonny (Ward 1) 344-3150 2191 Friendly, Eugene 97405 Bonny.S.Bettman@ci.eugene.or.us Farr, Pat (Ward 6) 689-0542 1929 Praslin St., Eugene 97402 Pat.M.Farr@ci.eugene.or.us Kelly, David (Ward 3) 686-3343 2988 Chandler St., Eugene 97403 David.S.Kelly@ci.eugene.or.us Meisner, Scott (Ward 7) 338-9946 66 North Adams St., Eugene 97402 Scott.Meisner@ci.eugene.or.us Nathanson, Nancy (Ward 8) 686-3446 2516 Hawkins Lane, Eugene 97405 Nancy.L.Nathanson@ci.eugene.or.us Pape, Gary, (Ward 5) 349-9939 355 Goodpasture Island Rd., Suite 400, Eugene 97401 Gary.D.Pape@ci.eugene.or.us Rayor, Gary (Ward 4) 343-5070 2373 Washington St., Eugene 97405 Gary.E.Rayor@ci.eugene.or.us Taylor, Betty (Ward 2) 338-9947 1051 East 36th Ave., Eugene 97405 Betty.L.Taylor@ci.eugene.or.us Torrey, Jim (Mayor) 682-5882 Jim.D.Torrey@ci.eugene.or.us ======================= OTHER LINKS ====================== PEACEHEALTH - WILLAMETTE VALLEY http://www.peacehealth.org/Community/owv/ MCKENZIE-WILLAMETTE HOSPITAL http://www.mckweb.com/ OREGON DEPARTMENT OF LAND CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT http://www.lcd.state.or.us/ ARLIE & COMPANY http://www.arlie.com/ =========================== KEY ========================== "Health Options Digest" is best read with an email program that recognizes links to web pages. It includes leads from and links to stories and opinions from the following publications: rg = The Register-Guard sn = Springfield News ew = Eugene Weekly cn = Comic News ode = Oregon Daily Emerald cce = City Club of Eugene Newsletter or = Oregonian For some stories (in the Springfield News and the Eugene Weekly), two links are given. Use the first link if the story is still current; use the second if another issue has since been published. ========================= CREDITS ======================== "Health Options Digest" is published once or twice a week by the Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES) as a service to the community. It is intended as an unbiased digest of news and opinion related to proposed changes in health care options for the community. The purpose of "Health Options Digest" is to inform, not editorialize. Please forward your copy of "Health Options Digest" to a friend. 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