The Observation Deck

Jim O'Bryan wrote: Mr. Bentley

After watching the video I have two questions.

1) It would seem that you have kept us up to date, it would see, that a couple council people were in the dark, had you supplied them with updates and documents?

2) Where can one locate the white paper on your hard work and the process?

It would seem a lot of work and discussions have happened over the past year and I would hate for all of it to be lost in the blink of an eye, or at the hand off. As it seems much has been left to the new foundation, it would be interesting to many of us what your committee came up with, and the thought process it behind it.

Is it all available in a form that can be shared? Most task forces such as this issue findings for the public.

Thank you for your hard work.

Jim,

The FPTF has been very open with its communication, and held all meetings as open meetings along the process. There are hundreds of documents found on the website. I've also written various pieces, which have appeared in the Lakewood Observer and other places. I also appeared before City Council on March 19th, with a folder of all things relevant. Below are links to all of things provided to them, which are found at http://www.onelakewood.com/wellness-foundation-task-force/

*Updated Summary, which was also printed in Observer Issue 14_6 & found on FPTF website
*Community Engagement Report
*Structure Presentation (with conservative pro forma)
*Structure Review from legal counsel

If I missed something that I put into the folder, maybe a council member can remind me of what it was.

This was prior to us writing the Code of Regulations, which ALL City Council members received prior to the presentation on Monday. This has also consistently been available on the FPTF website.

This isn't to say that a white paper won't necessarily come. As Councilman O'Malley stated, we've been very open with communication. I've been here, the Patch, sharing in every Lakewood Facebook page there might be about updates. The Sun News and Cleveland.com also wrote a story on the name selection and search for board members. Other nonprofits in the community, including LakewoodAlive, have posted updates, or shared in e-blasts.

For anyone to live in the dark about anything regarding the FPTF process, or what's being put forth, is likely by choice.

I appreciate the work of the Foundation Planning Task Force and the leadership shown by Mr. Bentley in this public initiative. I also appreciate the strong focus on community engagement and the regular posting of materials to the city website.

I will make the observation that had the process to re-position Lakewood Hospital been this open, there is a good chance that we might still have a hospital. However, if the hospital was still closed, the citizens would at least have had comfort in knowing that the decision-making process had been open, transparent, ethical and legal. (There also would likely have been three fewer lawsuits over process and openness.)

I understand that the FPTF had to work within the limiting confines of the terms of the Master Agreement.

There still remains a serious ethical concern in the fact that former Lakewood Hospital Association trustees that still serve on our city council are voting consistent with the interests of a major party to the Master Agreement, to wit, the Lakewood Hospital Association. This is a potential disaster for both them and our community.

Such votes by such council-members only serve to taint the formation of the Healthy Lakewood Foundation with more questions about a hospital liquidation process that has been riddled with naked conflicts-of-interests year-after-year. The legislation for One Lakewood Place was tainted with the same problem.