New Sauk County Board narrows nursing home sale vote gap

Apr. 4—The results of Tuesday's Sauk County Board elections narrowed the gap between supervisors in favor of selling the county's nursing home and those opposed to a near-even split.

Three opponents of the possible privatization of the Sauk County Health Care Center in Reedsburg were elected to the County Board and will replace three supervisors who voted to enter negotiations with a potential buyer on March 28. The board approved the measure 19-9 with two members absent.

Mark Waldon, Sam Pocernich and Scott Kevin Alexander are replacing Mike Anderson, James Astle, and Carl Gruber in Districts 9, 18, and 27.

Board Chair and District 20 Sup. Tim McCumber said the 31-member board still has 16 votes in favor of selling the nursing home after the election of the three opponents. That could bring opponents within just a few votes of halting a sale of the facility.

"Its value is worth the cost," Pocernich said of the nursing home. "This is a valuable service to our county and it's worthwhile to keep."

But Pocernich said the only way to prevent the potential sale is to convince some of the board members who voted in favor of the measure to change their positions. He anticipates that the need for senior care in Sauk County will increase in the coming years and said he does not see how the county relinquishing ownership of the facility addresses that issue.

Waldon said board members who voted in favor of selling the nursing home should consider their constituents' sentiments on the issue.

"Get the pulse of the people and then make a decision based on that information," he said.

Pocernich and Shaun Harris, who was elected to the District 7 seat after receiving eight of 20 write-in votes to replace Sup. Delmar Scanlon, said they do not know the board members who supported negotiating a sale well enough to say if they might change their position.

Walton said private facilities charge more for care than publicly owned ones, and the quality of care tends to diminish. He said board members need to "weigh options" on how to generate revenue, and he does not believe the board has considered that throughout the potential privatization process.

"Selling it is an abdication of our responsibility to take care of the elders in the community," Pocernich said.

McCumber said the move to sell the nursing home is about expanding care. He said continued county ownership is "feeding money into the beast."

Pocernich acknowledged the high cost of running the home, with county taxpayers spending more than $17 million on the facility since 2018, or more $2.4 million per year. He said that the county should look to the state and federal government for additional funding to help run the home, as the county would have difficulty running it alone from a financial perspective.

"The fact that we are kind of on our own right now doesn't mean we should wash our hands of it either," Pocernich said.

Waldon and Pocernich both support further investment in the property surrounding the nursing home, including the addition of different care services, such as mental health, and possible other facilities to generate more revenue to offset expenses that exceed incoming dollar amounts.

"There is plenty of opportunity to be able to generate additional income from the site (of the nursing home)," Waldon said, adding that he has spoken to health care workers in Reedsburg who have suggested using vacancies on the property for mental health purposes.

"A compromise to me would be if (board members) feel the private sector could do better, we should maintain ownership of it and subcontract it out like we do many other things," Pocernich said. "If we sell it, then what are we left with? It's kind of like washing our hands of it and saying, 'There is a problem here and we don't want to deal with it.'"

Waldon said the vote to enter negotiations to sell the nursing home gives him less hope about maintaining county ownership, as it may be "too late," but he still hopes the county can avoid selling the faciltiy.

"I just think some aspects of running a county cost money," Waldon said. "The taxpayers are for keeping the Health (Care) Center and they are for their tax dollars going to maintain and keep that facility here for the residents of Sauk County."

But McCumber said, "We're down to the third and final stage (of the potential sale), so I don't see how it is going to fall apart."

Harris and Nathan Johnson are replacing Scanlon and Mike Flint in Districts 7 and 11. Both Scanlon and Flint voted against the measure to enter negotiations. Harris and Johnson are also opposed to the sale of the nursing home.

"I do believe it is in our best interest to take care of our infirmed, our elderly, our veterans," Harris said, adding that he would be open to hearing arguments in favor of the sale. "Right now, my vote would be 'no,' but I am an open-minded kind of guy. I don't know what that argument would be."

Harris and Waldon both said that privatization of the nursing home could make senior care unaffordable for lower income families, with Harris adding that the drive for profits would "supersede" levels of care for residents.

Aaron Evert ran unopposed in District 29 to replace Joel Chrisler, who voted in favor of moving forward with negotiations on March 28.

Anderson and Astle were incumbents who lost re-election bids to Waldon and Pocernich, respectively. Gruber did not seek re-election, and Alexander defeated challenger Scott Haugen for the District 27 seat.

Alexander and Evert did not respond to requests for comment.

Reporter John Gittings can be reached via phone at (920) 210-4695.

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