Carson City finalizes land sale to Carson Health

CARSON CITY — After almost eight months of negotiations, a purchase/sale agreement has been finalized between Carson City and Carson Health.

The Carson City Council approved selling the former water tower property to Carson Health at the Aug. 20 council meeting. The property was appraised at $36,000, but the hospital offered $20,000, which the council accepted.

City attorney Thomas Wilson previously advised the council that the property could only be sold for its appraised value unless the use of the property would be a benefit to all city residents.

The property was the only viable spot for a helipad, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the hospital was in jeopardy of losing the right to land aircraft on the existing helipad area, according to City Administrator Mark Borden.

“Having a helicopter pad would indeed be a benefit to everyone in our community and that is how we were able to sell the property for less than appraised value,” Borden said. “The city was not willing to sign the agreement until the hospital made provisions to enclose their trash dumpsters and that issue has been resolved. The hospital will only place fully enclosed dumpsters/compactors in the dumpster area located adjacent to the proposed new helicopter pad.”

The council and the hospital originally approved the sale/purchase of the former water tower property last January.

“We are pleased to have been able to reach an agreement with the city in purchasing the property,” said Carson Health Director of Service Excellence and Corporate Communications Daniyel McAlvey. “We plan to relocate our helipad to this piece of property. In doing so, we will meet the requirements of the FAA.

“It is imperative that Carson Health continues to have the ability to utilize the services of flight care, as we are rural and know that when an extreme emergency presents, seconds count,” McAlvey said. “This is a huge benefit to the communities that we serve.”

Borden said the hospital’s architect is hoping to use local contractors for the concrete and electrical work with construction set to begin in the near future.

“All parties involved are excited to move forward,” he said.

Original Article:  http://thedailynews.cc