The residents at Boyd Cottages Assisted Living, along with their loved ones, were able to breathe a big sigh of relief last week when it was confirmed that the fire suppression and alarm system at the facility is in good working condition and has passed all inspections, both from independent inspectors and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Boyd Cottages is currently home to twenty residents and is no doubt a huge asset to our community. When our older loved ones are no longer able to live on their own but are not yet ready for a skilled nursing facility, places like Boyd Cottages Assisted Living may be just the solution we are looking for.
The assisted living facility is currently owned by Wayne County and operated by a five-member Board of Directors. After many months of discussion and uncertainty of the facility’s faltering financial security, the decision was made to sell. The county agreed to continue to fund payroll for the facility when necessary until the facility is sold, and to pay the bills owed monthly when necessary as well.
Boyd Cottages was officially put out for bids earlier this fall, and the partnership of Jerry Hollis and Tim Franks submitted a letter of intent to purchase at a price of $1.25 million. The Wayne County Commission voted on September 11 to accept their letter of intent, and the partnership of Hollis and Franks began the process of due diligence of inspections at the facility.
On Monday, October 30, members of the Wayne County Commission were dealt an unexpected blow when Hollis and Franks officially announced that they were withdrawing their letter of intent to purchase the facility. According to Hollis and Franks, the inspector that they chose to conduct the inspection of the building’s fire suppression system told them that the entire system would have to be replaced. This would come with a price tag of $350,000, which is far above the cost of repairs the two had anticipated. They stated that there was another issue with the fire alarm system not notifying 911 in case of a fire emergency as well.
According to Mr. Hollis and Mr. Franks, they were unable to obtain insurance coverage for the facility until the repairs/replacement of the fire suppression and alarm system were made.
Another issue brought up by Hollis and Franks was the condition of a ramp leading off the rear deck outside the dining room of the building. The ramp had several rotten boards and was unusable in that state. The commissioners assured Hollis and Franks that this was a repair that could be made quickly and inexpensively.
“The purchase of Boyd Cottages has never been all about the money or profit for us,” said Jerry Hollis at the commission meeting. “We have never thought of it that way. However, with the cost of the fire suppression system replacement already being quoted at such an enormous price, and not yet knowing what other issues could potentially come up, we are going to have to respectfully withdraw our letter of intent.”
The commissioners were understandably shocked and dismayed at what Hollis and Franks told them, and although the sale of the facility falling through was indeed a crisis, the first and foremost concern was the safety of the residents. “Of course I’m concerned about the sale of the facility not happening, but the safety of the residents is certainly the most important thing,” said Commissioner Vickie Petty. “Nothing else comes before the residents’ safety and well-being.”
On Monday, November 13, the Wayne County Assisted Living Committee, made up of Wayne County Commissioners, met with Boyd Cottages Director Gina Skelton to discuss the urgent matter of the fire suppression system. Ms. Skelton was able to produce up-to-date inspection reports from both an independent inspector and the State Fire Marshal. All the reports stated that the system was in good working order, and everything passed and was up to code. “I can assure you, if at any time the residents at Boyd Cottages were in danger as a result of the fire suppression and alarm system, the inspectors would have notified us and immediately shut us down,” said Skelton. “I and my staff would never knowingly put our residents in any danger.”
Skelton stated that the facility is required to have quarterly, bi-annually, and annual inspections of the fire suppression and alarm system by an independent inspector, and the State Fire Marshal inspects the system at least once a year, possibly more. She went on to say that she had spoken directly with the representative at Global, the same person at the company that Mr. Hollis and Mr. Franks had quoted as saying the fire suppression system would have to be replaced. According to Ms. Skelton, the representative told her that he did not say that the system would have to be replaced, but had quoted Hollis and Franks an estimate of what it would cost if they chose to have the system replaced.
Ms. Skelton went on to say, “The county currently has insurance on the facility, and there has been no issue with insurance coverage that I am aware of since I have been employed there. I don’t understand how the county is able to maintain insurance coverage on a facility if it has issues that would cause another insurance company to deny coverage.”
After reviewing the reports and discussing everything at great length, the committee agreed that County Executive Jim Mangubat would find out what insurance company or companies by whom Mr. Hollis and Mr. Franks had been denied coverage and reach out to them for further discussion. They agreed that there most certainly had been great miscommunication during the inspection process.
The committee also agreed that they should reach out to Mr. Hollis and Mr. Franks again to see if the findings presented at this meeting would in any way change their minds about withdrawing their letter of intent. With both Hollis and Franks living in and having been raised in Wayne County, they had been thought of as a perfect fit as potential owners of the facility.
The Assisted Living Committee meeting adjourned with all those present feeling exponentially better about the Boyd Cottages residents’ safety. However, the issue remains concerning the financial stability of the facility and how it affects the county’s budget.
The Wayne County Budget Committee met on Tuesday, November 14 before recessing and reconvening on Thursday, November 16. The topic of unpaid bills at Boyd Cottages arose, and Director Gina Skelton was able to be in attendance at the November 16 meeting for the discussion. She told the committee that although Boyd Cottages was able to make their own payroll for the month, there were many bills and expenses for which they needed the county’s assistance. She explained that the facility currently has only 20 residents, and that number would have to be 24 for the facility to be able to even break even on a monthly basis.
After lengthy discussion, it was established that in order for Boyd Cottages to pay the bills and stay open, they would require at least $10,000 to $15,000 in assistance from the county on a monthly basis. The budget meeting adjourned with further uncertainty about the financial situation at Boyd Cottages and what the county is going to do moving forward.
