MDD: ‘Debt would delay transfer’

For the first time, the Rockdale Municipal Development District (MDD) has indicated it might consider surrendering at least some of its half-cent sales tax to help bring a new clinic to the former hospital campus.

But the MDD also maintains it must retire almost $900,000 in “bonds and other obligations” first—a process taking between 2 to 2-1/2 years and wants to “open communications” with CHI St. Joseph’s on its own.

That’s the entity which plans to bring the new clinic to Rockdale.

The president of the Rockdale Hospital District board says he isn’t sure any agreement will be reached and doesn’t know “where it goes from here.”

PLAN—“The MDD Board of Directors want to assist the hospital district in bringing an additional clinic to Rockdale,” Kara Clore, MDD executive director, told The Reporter. “They can only do so to the extent of the law and to the extent of available funds.”

Clore said the MDD would look at the clinic as an economic matter and would like to open communications with St. Joseph’s “to determine what their plan is and how we can assist with the project.”

Burns said some Rock-dale Hospital District board members met with Clore and Dr. John M. Weed, MDD president, last week.

“The RHD response was that St. Joseph’s is not requesting funds, the RHD is,” Burns said “Also, they (MDD) said any funding would only be on a term basis and we said we needed a continuing revenue stream, not a term. ”

The hospital district is searching for $200,000 annually to assure the clinic becomes a reality. The RHD once collected the half-cent sales tax which now goes to the MDD.

DEBT—Clore said before any transfer could be considered the MDD would have to pay off “bonds and other obligations” currently totaling $856,264.46, a process she estimated would take between two and two-and-one-half years.

Burns said the MDD and RHD discussed how the debt for industrial development property was incurred and asked why it had not been paid off.

Burns said the RHD’s only other option remains re-imposing the district’s property tax which once was as high as 47 cents. “We’re not sure where it goes from here,” he said. “The people need to decide what they want.”