Hazel Hawkins Hospital officials say a bond measure is necessary
to double the number of patients the hospital treats, add a larger
emergency room and expand the facility to meet the demands of a
growing population.
Hollister – Hazel Hawkins Hospital officials say a bond measure is necessary to double the number of patients the hospital treats, add a larger emergency room and expand the facility to meet the demands of a growing population.
The ballot, which voters will pluck from their mailboxes in early April, will ask them to decide whether to approve a bond measure to help pay for a $56 million expansion at the hospital, and will mark the county’s first-ever mail-in election. The hospital will need two-thirds of the 25,541 registered voters in its district to approve the tax, which would raise about $31.5 million over the next 20 years.
The money will finance a total makeover of the 44-year-old hospital on Sunset Drive that would include 50,000 square-feet of new facilities, hospital CEO Ken Underwood has said. It would pay for:
n Five new buildings, including a new emergency room almost three times the size of the current one
n New technology and furnishings to treat 30,000 patients annually in a timely manner, while the current 3,500 square-foot space can only treat 14,000 patients a year
n A new obstetrics and rehabilitation unit
n An upgraded laboratory and diagnostic imaging services
n Numerous pieces of advanced medical equipment to detect cancer and treat heart problems
If the bond passes, the hospital’s administration hopes to open the doors to the new emergency room by 2007, said Board Member Gordon Machado.
“The need is there,” Machado said. “It is the only hospital in the county – it’s there for the local yokels rather than having to travel.”
If passed, the bond would add $14.95 to every $100,000 of assessed property value. The average home price in Hollister is $560,000 with a property tax of 1.25 percent of that total, which means someone owning an average-priced home pays approximately $7,000 in property taxes ever year, according to county Assessor Tom Slavich. If the hospital’s bond initiative passes it would add about $84 to that average fee, he said.
As of July 1, 2004, the county had a total of $5.4 billion in assessed value with about 19,400 parcels, Slavich said. The hospital’s bond will affect property owners differently because newer homes will be assessed at a higher value than a home bought in 1970 for $40,000, he said.
“People who bought most recently will get the biggest hit,” Slavich said. “People who have owned property for a long time won’t see that much of an increase.”
All registered voters in the hospital’s district, which includes all of San Benito County except for 688 voters in Erie, Bitterwater Tully and Aromas, will be eligible to decide whether they’re willing to cough up a little extra for hospital improvements when the ballot is mailed on April 4. They will have until May 3 to return their ballots, and Registrar John Hodges said he expects this special election to garner a somewhat higher voter turnout than normal.
Voter turnout depends on the election, but in last March’s primary election approximately 50 percent of voters either mailed in an absentee ballot or made it to the polls, Hodges said. Because this ballot is solely absentee, Hodges thinks more people will participate in the process.
Hodges said the county’s attorney hasn’t okayed the ballot yet, but hopes to have it done soon. He didn’t have an estimate for how much the election will cost, but said the hospital district has to foot the entire bill.
While this is Hodges’ first mail-in ballot, he doesn’t expect to run into any complications, he said.
“It’s nothing new,” Hodges said. “It’s just like receiving an absentee ballot, except there’s only one thing you’re voting on.”
Local Realtor Chela McIntyre said the measure’s approval could affect the real estate market because any increase in property taxes could influence a buyer’s decision to purchase a home or upgrade to a more expensive one.
“Most definitely, people would think twice,” she said. “Nobody wants to pay more money.”
However, Coldwell Banker Realtor Ray Pierce believes the bond wouldn’t have much of an impact on the market, and supports something that he thinks will only improve the community. Pierce, who is on the hospital’s campaign committee to inform voters of the initiative and solicit their support, said the hospital is something important to someone who’s been a county resident for four hours or for 40 years, and believes adequate medical service is something worth paying for.
“If the money just went into the general fund that would be one thing, but the money is designed for hospital improvements only,” Pierce said. “As for a tax, I think it’s one that’s really needed because it doesn’t just benefit one person, it benefits everyone.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected]
