Board Meeting on 6/22/99

On 6/22/99 Representatives of CHN met with two of ARMC's boards of directors. ARMC's structure and the various boards that support the structure are too complicated to explain here but we think that all of the essential powerbrokers were at this meeting. Four representatives of CHN actually spoke at this meeting. The input from two of these four representatives is presently available below. More should be available soon.

Amy Andrews' comments to the board:

Thank you for meeting with us and we would especially like to thank Carl Nichols who, as a volunteer, has expended a great amount of time in this matter. We would also like to thank Elaine Cook, who has shown us great courtesy in our contacts with the hospital. In the printed material we've furnished you, you'll find a list of our organization's officers and committees. Our governing body is a steering committee composed of approximately 20 representatives from the four neighborhoods surrounding the hospital - Boulevard, Cobbham, King, and Oglethorpe - as well as five other in-town neighborhoods who share our ideals. You'll find that the residents in the Normaltown area are dedicated and passionate about our quality of life. About a week and a half ago, as a result of our consistent objections to elements in the five-year plan, Mr. Nichols and Mr. Griffin asked us to present those detailed concerns to them. We prepared a document with specific statements on the five-year plan.

I believe that document led some of you to believe that we are trying to micromanage the hospital. That is not what our purpose is and never has been. Our purpose is to protect and enhance our neighborhoods and encourage ARMC to respect our goals while expanding and enhancing its services. Your challenge is to devise the strategies which allow you to serve the healthcare needs of this area while also meeting the principles of the Athens-Clarke County land use plan, one of which is preserving traditional residential areas. These principles are the same ones we incorporated into the mission statement and goals for our organization.

Part II of CHN Remarks before ARMC, Inc. on June 22, 1999
Given by Gwen O'Looney

And so... we come to you today in a number of roles:
As Neighbors... pleading for ARMC to reconsider plans developed with no consideration of the harm and displacement caused to the best examples of in-town living, appreciating properties, and quality of life neighborhoods in Athens-Clarke County;

As Citizens... asking only that ARMC apply the same urban design principles to planning and managing its growth as the community at large has committed itself to in planning its future and managing its growth.

As Admirers and Users of ARMC... We know your services are important. We believe the growth and prosperity of ARMC can be an immense asset and problemsolver for both the Athens area and Normaltown. We know that ARMC strives for excellence and we beli eve that you can be as sophisticated in planning as the many other nationally known, urban hospitals, which -- though much larger and much more constricted -- have been in using these same planning principles to manage their growth.

Most of all, today we come as Good Faith Partners... People who recognize that basic tenets must be agreed upon before even good friends can begin any cooperative planning effort able to produce the win-win solution of compatible growth, mixed uses, an d mutual benefit we all seek.

Very simply, we can not have an honorable process without stopping right now to clarify what that process will be, who will participate and what products we can expect to produce. I have the formidable task of presenting those questions that CHN must h ave answered before we can proceed. You may have others. We would welcome an open discussion on both sides. But we must have answers.

What you answer will be crucial to whether or not there is any reason these five adjacent neighborhoods should believe that ARMC is willing to enter an honorable planning process able to produce any meaningful change. Your answers can save both your r epresentatives and ours from any future embarrassment or loss of credibility. Your answers will determine whether or not earnest neighbors are being used and stalled or listened to and respected.

Here are the basic questions that have to be answered. We present them in an attempt to create a process that will work. Your answers will decide whether or not there is any reason for us to begin on June 28th and what we will begin on June 28th:

What aspects of ARMC's 5-, 10- and 20-year land use master plans would you agree to being studied by the planning committee? If limited to discussion of only those aspects which could reduce the impact of future growth and avoid the necessity of major intrusions in the 10- and 20-year plans, is ARMC willing to consider any changes in the 5-year plan?

Who will represent ARMC Inc. on the planning committee? How will ARMC representatives be given the authority to speak for ARMC? How will objective, "at-large" representatives be selected and mutually agreed upon?

If ARMC representatives are not authorized to speak for the governing boards of the hospital, how will the governing boards provide feedback to the planning committee during the planning process? How will agreements made with ARMC representatives rece ive the approval of ARMC, Inc. during the planning process?

What assurance do we have that ARMC is willing to consider any substantive changes to any part of the land use master plan with the understanding that no change will compromise the quality of health care provided by ARMC?

If the planning committee cannot finish its agenda before September 1,1999, will the committee be allowed to continue discussions until its business is completed?

We want to work with you for mutual benefit and the future of the area of Athens-Clarke County we share. We want to be used effectively, not falsely. At this time, much is needed to begin on June 28th with the highest potential for success. That's w hy we are here.