October, 9, 2020
Good afternoon,
The note below is being sent to members of BCHD’s “Community Working Group” today. I’m also sending it to you to ensure you have the latest, most accurate information about our Healthy Living Campus draft master plan. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the Healthy Living Campus project or BCHD in general. Tom Bakaly, BCHD
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Dear Community Working Group Members,
I hope you and your families are staying healthy and safe.
Last month, we communicated that we would be sending emails to help the working group stay updated about false claims that are being distributed in the community.
As happens with any public project, some facts about the draft master plan and BCHD, in general, have been misunderstood and in some cases, intentionally misrepresented or manipulated. While I hope that you have already been able to identify and counter these false claims, we are going to provide accurate information to address some of the most misleading statements.
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False Claim: The proposed project is luxury apartments for the wealthy.
Truth: A pricing schedule has not yet been determined, but will ultimately be consistent with prevailing market rates. One plan being considered will offer 10 percent of units at below market rates.
Assisted Living, which is designed to be “home-like,” with private or semi-private apartment-style rooms, provides a continuum of long-term care services, including a combination of housing, personal care services and health care specific to individuals who need assistance with normal daily activities (bathing, meals, dressing etc.). Assisted living residents are less likely than patients at skilled nursing facilities to require help with activities like bathing and dressing, but often receive assistance with meal preparation, laundry, and medication management.
In general, the care provided in assisted living is at a lower acuity and residents have a higher level of independence than the patients in skilled nursing facilities. But that does not make these units “luxury” apartments.
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False Claim: BCHD has no market research to back up its claims about the need for assisted living facilities in the South Bay.
Truth: BCHD retained MDS Market Research to conduct market studies evaluating the feasibility of a proposed assisted living and memory care community in Redondo Beach. Field work and analysis were originally completed in April 2016 and updated in August 2018 and May 2019.
The May 2019 report states: “There is sufficient size and depth of the qualified target market (older adults needing help with Activities of Daily Living, or ADLs) to prudently introduce the proposed new assisted living units and memory care beds into the Redondo Beach area – from a quantitative perspective.”
The MDS Report projects the number of Beach Cities residents age 75 and older requiring assistance with ADLs (e.g., bathing, dressing, toileting, etc.) to be:
2019: 9,547 (32.5% of the 75+ population)
2021: 9,911 (32.1%)
2024: 10,458 (31.7%)
The MDS market studies are available at www.bchdcampus.org/campus, listed under “Project Materials.”
Additionally, a Public Policy Institute of California report found that more than one million seniors statewide will require some assistance with self care.
A Bureau of Labor Statistics report states the need for long-term support and services will increase 41% over the next decade.
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False Claim: BCHD is becoming a private developer through the Healthy Living Campus.
Truth: We are continuing our decades-long BCHD model to provide free programs and services to Beach Cities residents. Therefore, any potential revenue generated will be reinvested in the community through services like school health programs, senior care, health grants and more.
Using this model, in 2019 Beach Cities residents received a $3.73-to-$1 return on their property tax investment in BCHD.
BCHD has a history of partnering or facilitating leases for health services, like Sunrise Assisted Living, Silverado Memory Care, Beach Cities Surgery Center, UCLA Health and South Bay Family Health Care — a federally qualified health center.
For example, BCHD recently facilitated a loan of up to $600,000 to upgrade South Bay Family Health Care on Artesia Blvd., which improved the quality of health care for lower income adults in the Beach Cities.
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False Claim: The 2020 draft Healthy Living Campus master plan is larger than the 2019 plan, even though BCHD claims the new plan is smaller.
Truth: The total new developed building area (square footage) is 18% less in the 2020 plan than the 2019 version. (Claims that the 2020 draft master plan is larger omit 160,000 square feet of subterranean parking.) The chart below provides the square footage numbers for the 2019 and 2020 draft master plans provided by Paul Murdoch Architects:
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False Claim: “BCHD spends 70% of our taxpayer-owner property taxes on executive salaries and the BCHD propaganda machine.”
Truth: This claim manipulates BCHD’s budget numbers, omitting 75% of the District’s revenue – more than $10 million – to misrepresent employee salaries.
Property taxes comprised 25% of BCHD’s annual revenue for FY 2018-19, according to the District’s audited financial report. This claim does not include BCHD revenues from leases (32%), Health & Fitness operations (18%), limited partnerships (13%), interest and other revenue (12%).
(Note: BCHD’s 2018-19 audited financial report received a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the U.S. & Canada and an Operating Budget Award for Excellence from the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers.)
As part of District policy, BCHD provides a compensation program that is competitive, legally compliant, and equitable. The pay structures conform with California minimum wage standards and the pay grade assignments maintain internal equity for hourly, non-exempt, exempt, and management jobs.
A compensation consultant reviews the compensation structure and ensures alignment with the organization structure, job content, market trends, and other developments.
For instance, the CEO salary range was established by considering similar job classifications and qualifications standards to assure that the job would be assigned to a pay grade that was competitive and aligned appropriately using the District’s major internal job evaluation factors.
The labor market definition was established by using commonly accepted selection criteria pertaining to similar geography (Southern California and Redondo Beach), industry (health, educational, and recreational services for private and not-for-profit organizations), organizational size (accounting for budget and number of employees) and benchmark classifications and qualifications requirements.
Regarding the “propaganda machine,” BCHD’s communications budget, which includes salaries, print publications, mailers to residents, flyers for programs and services, advertising, health promotion, website and more, made up five percent of BCHD’s overall budget.
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False Claim: BCHD does not need to make seismic upgrades to the 514 N. Prospect Ave. building.
Truth: In Southern California, earthquakes are a fact of life — we must be prepared. Seismic experts determined the 60-year old hospital building (514 N. Prospect Ave.) on our campus has seismic and structural issues common with buildings built in the 1950s and ’60s. The Healthy Living Campus is designed to take a proactive approach to those issues.
During the January 2018 Community Working Group meeting, Nabih Youssef and Associates presented their seismic findings, building deficiencies and assessment. During that meeting Community Working Group members discussed the 514 building, project status and path forward. Dency Nelson and Bruce Steele stated that the focus should be “Safety First.” Jean Lucio, Mark Nelson and Jan Buike all stated they agreed with Dency and Bruce, according to the Summary Report.
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False Claim: BCHD asserts that it has never damaged the surrounding neighborhoods
Truth: BCHD has not denied there are effects on neighbors from our operations, similar to other organizations, schools or businesses located near residences.
Further, the draft Environmental Impact Report currently being prepared will assess and analyze any impacts associated with the proposed Healthy Living Campus upgrade.
Since BCHD’s Campus opened in 1960, neighbors were certainly aware the campus was nearby before they moved in, especially if they lived adjacent or across the street and could see campus activity. The South Bay Hospital was operating through 1998 in addition to medical office space on the campus at 510 and 520 buildings — yet neighbors still made the decision to accept the normal activities of a functioning hospital across the street from or near their property. Only now has this become an issue.
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False Claim: BCHD entered into secret discussions with the City of Redondo Beach regarding the Healthy Living Campus project.
Truth: The following information is from BCHD’s CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) attorney:
“In the course of planning a redevelopment project, it is natural and beneficial to all parties for the project proponent to confer with the local agencies that will be asked to review and approve the project. It is also natural and beneficial to both parties for a Lead Agency under CEQA to confer with a Responsible Agency about the respective roles of the two agencies. CEQA anticipates, encourages, and requires early consultation among agencies – lead agencies (like BCHD), responsible agencies, trustee agencies, Native American tribes – both formal and informal consultation. These provisions are found in Public Resources Code sections 21080.3, 21080.3.1, 21080.3.2, and 21080.4, and in CEQA Guidelines sections 15060.5, 15082, 15083, and 15086.
See PRC 21080.3(a), (“Prior to determining whether a negative declaration or environmental impact report is required for a project, the lead agency shall consult with all responsible and trustee agencies. Prior to that required consultation, the lead agency may informally contact any of those agencies.”)
Consultation with the City of Redondo Beach at the initial stages of the planning process for the Healthy Living Campus Redevelopment Project is prudent and essential to ensure that the CEQA process, the resulting EIR, and the application materials prepared for City review, all meet the City’s needs as Responsible Agency and reviewing body.”
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False Claim: Wood PLC is a partner in the North Dakota Bakken oil field Davis Refinery.
Truth: Samantha Perry, the lead for the Operations Readiness Sector for Wood PLC in Aberdeen, Scotland, reports that Wood is not an “investor” or an “equity partner” in the Greenfield Davis Oil Refinery. Wood PLC is simply providing Operations Readiness and Assurance (ORA) services.
A committee of BCHD staff and CWG members hired Wood as their Environmental Impact Report consultant for their expertise and leadership in the industry. Wood PLC is an experienced, global leader in the delivery of project management, engineering, consulting and technical services to energy and built environment customers. Wood operates in more than 60 countries, employing around 55,000 people.
A summary of Wood’s ORA services is available at: https://www.woodplc.com/capabilities/consulting/asset-integrity/operational-readiness-and-assurance.
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I want to thank you for your participation on the Community Working Group over the years. We will continue to keep the group updated as we get closer to the release of the Draft EIR at the end of 2020/early 2021.
Finally, members of the BCHD Board have received email communication from one Community Working Group Member mentioning litigation. If you have questions about that topic or any other public statements you have seen or heard, please reach out to me.
Thank you again for your dedication and participation on the Community Working Group. I hope you have a great weekend.
In health,
Tom Bakaly
Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]
(310) 374-3426, ext. 118
