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LAKELAND – Lakeland Regional Health will pay the city $215 million by October to fulfill the hospital s lease through 2040, after which it will pay $10 a year going forward.
Lakeland commissioners voted 6-1 to accept a prepayment of the hospital s lease on Monday afternoon. It will free the nonprofit health care provider from its annual lease payment to the city, which is currently more than $14 million per year.
We are clearly in uncertain times, overall and certainly in the health care environment, Lakeland Regional Health President and CEO Danielle Drummond said. Our objective is to bring about as much certainty for the hospital as well as the city given the number of uncertainties.
I am very, very disappointed, Gene Strickland said. That would be the kindest thing I could say.
According to the deal approved Monday, Lakeland Regional Health will prepay its lease to the city through the year 2040, and thereafter pay only $10 per year.
Strickland, a former city manager, and Jerry Reynolds, Lakeland s finance director for nearly 20 years, were at the table when the city first struck its deal with Lakeland Regional Health in 1986. Prior to that, it had been a community hospital run by the city, which also was responsible for its debts.
Reynolds sent an email to commissioners ahead of Monday s vote that gives insight into how the original lease agreement was intentionally structured to provide a revenue stream for the city.
LAKELAND Lakeland officials will consider whether to accept a $215 million payment from Lakeland Regional Health to end its current hospital lease. Doing so, will have a radical impact on the city s finances.
City commissioners are scheduled to vote Monday on whether to accept a deal in which Lakeland Regional Health would prepay $215 million to fulfill all remaining hospital lease payments through September 2040. Afterward, the hospital would pay the city $10 per year going forward. I m not alone in thinking the hospital lease is one of the most challenging issues to resolve in the coming years, Commissioner Chad McLeod said. This is a win for both sides that brings certainty into the situation.
LAKELAND After nearly six hours of presentations and debate, the Lakeland City Commission granted a request Tuesday to double the size of a new development near Carillon Lakes.
In a 4-2 vote, the commission authorized developer Matcon Construction Services Inc. to build an additional 158 residential units at 3301 Airport Road. In 2006, a zoning change allowed for 142 units to be built on that land; two-story townhomes were planned but never built. Now, Matcon will put 300 apartment units up in several three-story buildings.
Commissioners Sara Roberts McCarley and Chad McLeod voted against the proposal. Commissioner Don Selvage, who is temporarily filling the seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Scott Franklin, recused himself from the decision because of a financial conflict of interest.