(TALLAHASSEE)- How Much is Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (TMH) Worth?
That is the question citizens are asking as Florida State University (FSU) moves toward acquiring TMH.
The FSU-TMH merger has been a frequent topic for the city commissioners for just over a month now, with the end in sight, possibly as early as the commissioners' next meeting on Dec. 10.
Tallahassee Memorial Hospital aerial view (Photo: Tallahassee Memorial Hospital website)
Once negotiations between FSU and TMH are complete, the acquisition will be brought before the commissioners, who will either approve or deny the merger. The next time FSU comes to City Hall, it will be with a finalized deal, and all relevant information will be made available for the Commissioners.
Some say the merger is moving to fast. On Nov. 19 was an important city hall meeting, which may have clarified or deepened your misunderstanding or mistrust.
Commissioners seem to be skipping a step, according to the Tallahassee City Commission Policy Manual. According to the manual and policy, real estate valued at $300,000 or more must have two independent appraisers.
Since Oct. 1, numerous public comments have been made to the city commissioners inquiring about the policy and why the precedent has been skipped.
At the meeting, Tallahassee Mayor John Daley doubled down, stating that the two independent appraisers are neither necessary nor happening, despite protests from Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Jacqueline Porter.
When Matlow made a motion to demand two private appraisals, Dailey delegated to City Manager Reese Goad, whom Matlow has been critical of publicly.
“I do not recommend it,” Goad said. “It would be the physical inspection of the plan that would be the physical inspection of the building, contents of the building, to come up with a more precise number.”
Goad added he thinks “it stands to reason the numbers are already in range.”
The city manager continued to state that Ankura, the sole independent firm appraising TMH, used two separate methods to ensure validity.
As the chief negotiator, Goad has expressed comfort and content with the appraisal.
If you are like Matlow and have any distrust of Goad or the city of Tallahassee, do not expect the appraisal process to ease your mind. The appraisal Goad was confident in has a margin of error of hundreds of millions.
Tallahassee City Manager Reese Goad (Photo: Tallahassee government website)
“If you recall, in the different methods that were used back here, the valuation ranged from $26 million to high $500 million,” said Goad.
To his defense, the discrepancy is caused by TMH's accumulated debt, which does not transfer to the city and is not due to negligence.
Where Matlow and Porter support a more physical and thorough appraisal, Goad and Mayor Dailey vocalized their disagreement. Further appraisals would incur more city resources and funds, and if anything, take value away from the hospital’s current evaluation.
As expected, the city council is once again split 3-2 on how to sell the hospital and how to proceed with city policy.
Although city policy calls for two independent appraisers to evaluate TMH, is the Mayor justified in opting for Ankura to work alongside the city manager?
If you have any updates or questions, please comment and message me at jasonf@lead4earth.org!
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