Wednesday, February 03, 1999
Nursing home rehab closer
Covington moves toward bond issue
BY RAY SCHAEFER
Enquirer Contributor
COVINGTON — If Joe Boone weren't so afraid of falling, he would consider removing the old St. John's Health Care Center sign himself.
Mr. Boone is projects manager for Baptist Life Services, the Newport organization that wants to give the former nursing home on Highland Avenue a new name — Baptist Towers — and turn it into a mixture of independent-living, personal-care and assisted-living units.
“We feel (the) community misses St. John's,” Mr. Boone told the Covington City Commission on Tuesday. “We want to bring it back. We're going to make this building affordable for anyone who wants to live there.”
The state closed St. John's in 1997, citing concerns about health and safety. At the time, many of the 331 patients were sent to nursing homes in Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee.
Commissioners issued a letter of inducement, the first step toward issuing $3.5 million in industrial revenue bonds to renovate the facility. Mr. Boone said planned im provements include a new sprinkler system, upgraded wiring and plumbing, and new landscaping.
Mr. Boone hopes the work would be finished by September. He said when it's done, Baptist Towers would have:
• 64 independent-living apartments.
• 30 personal-care beds for Medicare patients.
• 18 assisted-living units.
• Baptist Life Services offices.
Baptist Life Services operates the Baptist Convalescent Center in Newport and the Baptist Village residential complex in Erlanger. The company also plans to start construction this year on Griesser Farm, a development on Ky. 18 three miles west of Burlington that would have nearly 200 units when finished in 2003.
Also Tuesday, the Behringer-Crawford Museum of Covington revealed its proposal for a $450,000 improvement project.
Laurie Risch, executive director, said 4,650 square feet of space would be added. She said plans include:
• More exhibit, reception and programming space.
• A permanent home for the Kentucky, a renovated streetcar built in 1889 thought to be the only one of its type remaining in the country.
• Improved access for vehicles and pedestrians.
“We're in a crunch,” Ms. Risch said. “Basically, we are out of exhibit space completely.”
Tom O'Donnell, chairman of the museum's capital fund drive, said about $275,000 has been raised through private donations. He said the museum is also seeking money from grants.
In other news, commissioners:
• Agreed to pay $85,000 toward stabilizing a section of Montague Road. Kenton County Fiscal Court will pay $50,000 to fix the heavily traveled road, which links Covington and Ludlow.
• Heard a report on the city's recently completed audit. Jim Sparrow of the Fort Wright accounting firm Rankin Rankin & Co., said the city's assets increased from $88 million in 1997 to $95.8 million last year, but the general fund balance dropped from around $1.9 million in 1997 to about $951,000.
Mr. Sparrow said increased costs in public safety and general services were the reasons.
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