Model Questions for New Foundation Task Force

[m buckley]

11 months in, Mr. Kindt's has 33 questions... No answers. Not one.
11 months in, Mr. Call asks the following..." Can anyone list the 10 most important decisions that have been made at this point?"...No answers. Not one.
No answers. No worries. Because we have been assured that Mike Summers want's to get this right and let's reflect on the importance of that because nobody want's to get things right quite like Mike Summers. Whether it's police at opponents doors. Banning the deck from city hall. SlAPP lawsuits. Withholding public records.Transparency.Truth.That whole Public assets to private swamp thing he wallows in... say what you will, Mike Summers wants to get it right. He wants to get you right.
Are you right?

[bentleymike]

As a task force, we were working off of 50 common questions that had been given to us by various parties. Many were similar in nature, and many had to do with the Master Agreement. We had to consult with Law Director Butler on the Master Agreement questions, in order to get clear, concise understanding and answers.

We have consolidated the FAQs to 4 different main topics & 17 questions. I have given my fellow task force members until Sunday to get me any feedback prior to us posting up on the task force’s website. They will go up on Monday, and I’ll post a notice here that they’re available.

[Bridget Conant]

We had to consult with Law Director Butler on the Master Agreement questions, in order to get clear, concise understanding and answers.

I’m not sure he understands it despite his self-acknowledged role in “negotiating” it. As I recall, he denied there was an enforceable lease with the Clinic.

Kevin isn’t known for clear and concise, either. Ever read any of the briefs he submits?

[Dan Alaimo]

As a task force, we were working off of 50 common questions that had been given to us by various parties. Many were similar in nature, and many had to do with the Master Agreement. We had to consult with Law Director Butler on the Master Agreement questions, in order to get clear, concise understanding and answers.

We have consolidated the FAQs to 4 different main topics & 17 questions. I have given my fellow task force members until Sunday to get me any feedback prior to us posting up on the task force’s website. They will go up on Monday, and I’ll post a notice here that they’re available.

Despite my unease with the Mayor and Law Director, I still say give the Task Force a chance.
Keep asking questions, but let's see what they say.

[Mark Kindt]

I look forward to reviewing the answers/responses that will be posted by the Foundation Planning Task Force. I appreciate the fact that the FPTF is addressing sets of common community questions. Again, I commend them for their volunteer commitment to this planning effort.

The list of questions that I collated is less than two weeks old and during that period we had the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. My hope is that the FPTF drafts an interim report or prepares a comprehensive set of answers by the anniversary of its first meeting on January 17, 2017--that is by mid-January 2018.

That seems eminently reasonable to me.

I would encourage Deck writers to post criticism (much of it well-deserved) of the city administration in other threadS devoted to that topic.

[bentleymike]

The answers are posted, and can be viewed by clicking the accordion link on the side titled "FPTF Community Questions Answered"

Again, we had 50 questions that overlapped in many ways. We also tried to best consolidate the questions into topic groups, and the most common questions then consolidated in. I think we hit on every question posed from Mark's v. 2 posted

http://www.onelakewood.com/wellness-fou ... ask-force/

[Mark Kindt]

I want to thank Mr. Bentley and the Foundation Planning Task Force for addressing these questions!

[Jim O'Bryan]

• FPTF Community Questions Answered-
 


What exactly is the Foundation Planning Task Force doing?
 


1. Are you Lakewood Hospital Foundation or employed by Cleveland Clinic?

No. We are volunteer citizens appointed by City Council and the Mayor after an open application process in 2016. We have been charged with determining the structure and mission of the new wellness foundation. We are not the board of the new foundation


2. Are you the group that made the decisions for the former Lakewood Hospital property?

No. The foundation task force has nothing to do with the development of the hospital property. None of our task force members were associated with that panel. For more information on the hospital property development, go here.


3. What do you anticipate your final work to look like, and when will it be completed?
We will submit recommendations, to be approved by City Council and the Mayor, for mission, structure, and initial board makeup of the new foundation that will serve Lakewood. A full list of our responsibilities can be found here. We anticipate our final work product to be done by mid-2018.

4. What permits our elected leaders to vote on the task force’s recommendations?
Ohio Constitution Sections 18.01 & 18.03, and Ohio Revised Code 715.01, as well as city charter permits our elected leaders to consider and vote on our recommendations. As part of the Master Agreement, the city is not forming a non-profit entity as a member or incorporator. It is only to follow the obligations found in Section 4.1 of the Master Agreement – specifically, to work with Lakewood Hospital Association (LHA) in formulating the initial governance and documents of the new foundation. Hence, our task force formation in early 2017.

What is the source of the funds for the new foundation?

1. Who is funding the foundation?
Per the Master Agreement’s Section 6.1, Cleveland Clinic is making the contributions over eight years, totaling $24.4 million. This is in exchange for the right to receive the assets of Lakewood Hospital Association (LHA) upon its dissolution (per Section 3.3). Cleveland Clinic will also make additional contributions, which will be held in a segregated account, of $500,000 per year for 16 years, totaling $8 million The total funding, from this private entity, will be $32.4 million. Here is the full funding schedule.

2. Why is the foundation being formed? Can’t the City of Lakewood just take the money?
Per the Master Agreement in Section 4.1, the foundation must be created and funded for the purpose of community health and wellness in the city. LHA’s assets weren’t the city’s assets.

3. Why is the funding being timed and delayed? Can the money be disbursed immediately?
The Master Agreement’s Section 6.1 calls for the timing of the payments. It was a heavily negotiated point within the agreement, and the timing and payment amounts involved net present value calculations each party (City of Lakewood, LHA, and Cleveland Clinic) made in order to reach a final compromise. The new board can have the right to request funds on a faster schedule, but whether to accelerate payments would only be at the agreement of Cleveland Clinic.

4. Will the new foundation be a public fundraising entity?
It is yet to be decided on the structure of the new foundation, though many options are being considered, as shown here.
http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... 101917.pdf

How will the foundation board be selected and governed?

1. What will be the process for appointing board members, and who is responsible for appointing them?
The task force is in the process of determining the structure of the foundation, which includes the recommended structure and makeup of the board. We anticipate making a recommendation, to be determined, on a fair process for selection. Under Section 4.1 of the Master Agreement, Lakewood’s elected officials and LHA have agreed to jointly select initial individual board members.

2. Will there be a conflicts of interest provision in the bylaws in order to maintain integrity and independence of board members?
While we anticipate the answer to be yes, this has not yet been determined.

3. Will board members be required to be Lakewood residents?
We have not yet determined our recommendation for the structure or makeup of the board. We anticipate the answers for this over the coming months.

4. What will be the size of the board, how many seats is Cleveland Clinic going to hold, and will there be term limits?
We have not yet determined our recommendation for the structure or makeup of the board. We anticipate the answers for this over the coming months. According to Section 4.2 of the Master Agreement, the board must be 5-21 members. Of these members, two (2) will be appointees of Cleveland Clinic.

How will the money be spent for the new foundation?

1. Have you run any pro forma financial documents to show disbursements, expenses, and returns?
Yes, we have run some estimates. These were presented at our October 19, 2017 task force meeting. The documents can be viewed here.
http://www.onelakewood.com/wp-content/u ... 101917.pdf

2. Will the new foundation seek matching funds from any other non-profit entities for programming, including, but not limited to the former Lakewood Hospital Foundation?
As was stated in The Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundation President, Mitch Balk’s presentation, collaboration is very high amongst non-profits in Northeast Ohio. We will encourage collaboration, and look to avoid duplication of services.
Balik's presentation here: https://youtu.be/NM8OxeYcpgU

3. Will this be a spend-down foundation, or operate in perpetuity?
We have not yet determined our recommendation the structure of the foundation.

4. Transparency will be key to the new foundation in its grant making endeavors. How will success be gauged, and will there be public meetings?
While not finalized, the task force anticipates making transparency a key element of the bylaws. Ultimately, the board will make the determination on how they disperse information beyond their required annual filings, and how they gauge success.

5. Will funds be used in Lakewood, or regionally?
While we have not determined a structure yet, the Master Agreement’s Section 6.1(a) states the money is to be used “for the benefit of the Lakewood community and its residents”.

.

[cmager]

What is the source of the funds for the new foundation?

2. Why is the foundation being formed? Can’t the City of Lakewood just take the money?
Per the Master Agreement in Section 4.1, the foundation must be created and funded for the purpose of community health and wellness in the city. LHA’s assets weren’t the city’s assets.

1. "LHA's assets weren't the city's assets." Yeah, thanks for that opinion, Kev. And so it goes > Now Summers and Butler promote their revisionist fallacy via these Q+A's. They count on this being repeated by others so that it becomes a truthy fact.

2. If Summers and Butler succeed in making this a private foundation (and not public-private) they will have completed their mission of extracting public $$ and transferring them to the private control of them and theirs. Don't let it go private.

[Dan Alaimo]

Again, I'm encouraged by the Task Force's responsiveness. Thank you. This is the way things should be and, unfortunately, we're not used to it. I look forward to more of the same.

[Bill Call]

What is the source of the funds for the new foundation?

2. Why is the foundation being formed? Can’t the City of Lakewood just take the money?
Per the Master Agreement in Section 4.1, the foundation must be created and funded for the purpose of community health and wellness in the city. LHA’s assets weren’t the city’s assets.

1. "LHA's assets weren't the city's assets." Yeah, thanks for that opinion, Kev. And so it goes > Now Summers and Butler promote their revisionist fallacy via these Q+A's. They count on this being repeated by others so that it becomes a truthy fact.

2. If Summers and Butler succeed in making this a private foundation (and not public-private) they will have completed their mission of extracting public $$ and transferring them to the private control of them and theirs. Don't let it go private.

Good catch. Did anyone else notice the slight of hand?

The financial statements of Lakewood Hospital clearly state that ALL of the assets of the Hospital belong to the City. The notes to the statements state that the assets include land, buildings, receivables, and all other assets including CASH and investments. The value of the cash and investments was over $50 million.
Buried in the answers is the statement that the Cleveland Clinic will donate $32 million or so ON THE CONDITION THAT THE CITY SURRENDER THE $50+ MILLION IN CASH AND INVESTMENTS.

So, instead of the City retaining $50+ in cash and investments the City gives the money and all the other assets to the Clinic. Then the Clinic donates a small portion of the City's money to a foundation controlled by the Clinic and the Clinic pockets the balance and all the other assets. A neat trick.

Not mentioned is the City's beneficial interest in the Lakewood Hospital Foundation valued at about $35 million. The Lakewood Hospital Foundations 990 states that the assets of the Lakewood Hospital Foundation are now included in the financial statements of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Another neat trick.

[mjkuhns]

2. Why is the foundation being formed? Can’t the City of Lakewood just take the money?
Per the Master Agreement in Section 4.1, the foundation must be created and funded for the purpose of community health and wellness in the city.

This may be a dumb question, but theoretically: does anything prevent this foundation from paying out its funds to the City of Lakewood, to be used for any of various existing city expenses which fall under the heading of "community health and wellness?" (Which heading is, from everything I have seen and heard so far, recognized by the planning task force to be very broad?)

[Jim O'Bryan]

What is the source of the funds for the new foundation?

2. Why is the foundation being formed? Can’t the City of Lakewood just take the money?
Per the Master Agreement in Section 4.1, the foundation must be created and funded for the purpose of community health and wellness in the city. LHA’s assets weren’t the city’s assets.

1. "LHA's assets weren't the city's assets." Yeah, thanks for that opinion, Kev. And so it goes > Now Summers and Butler promote their revisionist fallacy via these Q+A's. They count on this being repeated by others so that it becomes a truthy fact.

2. If Summers and Butler succeed in making this a private foundation (and not public-private) they will have completed their mission of extracting public $$ and transferring them to the private control of them and theirs. Don't let it go private.

Good catch. Did anyone else notice the slight of hand?

The financial statements of Lakewood Hospital clearly state that ALL of the assets of the Hospital belong to the City. The notes to the statements state that the assets include land, buildings, receivables, and all other assets including CASH and investments. The value of the cash and investments was over $50 million.
Buried in the answers is the statement that the Cleveland Clinic will donate $32 million or so ON THE CONDITION THAT THE CITY SURRENDER THE $50+ MILLION IN CASH AND INVESTMENTS.

So, instead of the City retaining $50+ in cash and investments the City gives the money and all the other assets to the Clinic. Then the Clinic donates a small portion of the City's money to a foundation controlled by the Clinic and the Clinic pockets the balance and all the other assets. A neat trick.

Not mentioned is the City's beneficial interest in the Lakewood Hospital Foundation valued at about $35 million. The Lakewood Hospital Foundations 990 states that the assets of the Lakewood Hospital Foundation are now included in the financial statements of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Another neat trick.

Bill

This was the bullshit we caught them on back in 2014, before the announcement.

Every penny in this deal was the community's money and property before the deal. The Mayor acted like we were getting $120 million, another figure he lied about.

The Fact we gave them $178 million in assets and we get back NOTHING. Not a damn thing, except to let the Mayor's friends spend out money on what they want.

The same group of people that never did anything to raise cash or change "DowntowN" as said in September 2014 WE GOT PLAYED.

Speaking of played, wait till you see what we found out about new grocery store we are blessed with.

.

[Dan Alaimo]

So let's hear the task force's answer to these follow-up questions. Are there answers/reasons, or do we have "strike 1"?

[bentleymike]

The only follow up that I see is Matt’s, which I will address. I will encourage future questions/comments to go through the FPTF Community Questions - Submit Your Question Here section on the Task Force page. This will create a public record, but also have the question sent to the Communications Subcommittee.

Technically, no, there isn’t anything stopping it. It is a matter of structure. Private Foundations can give to 501c3 organizations, but not technically the city itself, because it isn’t a public charity. Public can do what they see best fit into their mission. I will say, no structure has been decided on yet, and we’ve had spirited debate even over spend down vs. perpetuity.

I encourage anyone interested in progress, as it’s getting to the point where real decisions are being made, to attend the task force meetings. You also get the chance for public comment.