Saratoga Hospital is proposing a massive medical endeavor to be constructed at Exit 12 in Malta, which could take 25 years to complete and would eventually include, per the conceptual master plan, an ambulatory care facility to replace a small urgent care facility being operated on Route 9, a senior facility for nursing, assisted and independent living, medical office buildings and a new hospital if granted approval by the Department of Health, according to Matthew Jones of Jones Ferradino, attorneys for the hospital.
At a Tuesday, Sept. 7 Ballston Town Board meeting, Jones offered a general image of what the nearly 1 million-square foot plot would contain, saying it would be constructed in steps, with the ambulatory care facility located on about 60,000-square feet along Route 167 first on the list. He said the large time frame of 25 years is predicted because the trend within the DOH is currently against new hospitals.
The Town of Ballston fits into the picture, said Jones, because Saratoga Hospital would be interested in a water extension agreement with them, citing the strong water pressure and dual water contracts as assets that could greatly meet the hospital’s needs.
For a medical complex, especially longterm that could include acute services, redundancy is a good thing, so two services of water would be beneficial in the nature of being prepared. You can’t be without water for very long, said Jones.
Jones said the hospital was proposing a 7,000 foot, $1.5 million water line that it would construct and incur the costs of installing, which would run from the hook up on East Line Road behind Stewart’s, to Route 67 where the proposed entrance would be. If approved, construction on this line would begin by spring 2011 to coincide with construction of the first site building.
Once constructed, the proposed water line would be owned by Ballston and it could use it to extend water services to others if desired. Jones said the town would be responsible for any capital expenses associated with upkeep of the line.
The hospital would require different quantitites of water, which would grow incrementally as size of the medical park grows. According to Jones, in zero to five years, the average daily use would be 4,400 gallons a day; six to 10 years would see 33,550 gallons a day; 11 to 15 years would use 51,025 gallons a day; 16 to 20 years would see 60,625 gallons a day; and 25 plus years would use 144,625 gallons a day.
Jones said the hospital would propose a rate equivalent to what water district residents pay. Supervisor Patti Southworth said she isn’t opposed to the idea of a water extension but doesn’t currently think charging the in district rate would be financially sound.
`As the chief financial officer, my job is to ensure the district is run financially sound and the reason you have outside user rates is because there’s no way to charge any kind of capital expenses. There’s always upgrades to equipment and the water tower and administrative costs that play into operating a water system, so we need to be sure we have a sound financial plan and won’t be losing money on this option because that will just place the burden back on town residents,` said Southworth. `I’m not looking to make a killing off a hospital by any means, but at the same time we can’t lose money on the project and taxpayers in the water district shouldn’t be footing the burden of someone else. We need an agreement to make it beneficial for both of us.`
Jones told the town board to discuss, pose questions and hopefully offer a decision by November so the appropriate next steps can be taken.
“
