Peninsula Healthcare District Is Not a Real Estate Development Firm

By Douglas Henning Radtke

My letter to the Editor of the San Mateo Daily Journal

The Peninsula Health Care District is aggressively pursuing real estate development with the assistance of hired consultant Pinto & Associates. The latest meeting agenda packet shows that the community center, assisted living, medical offices and mixed-used development ideas have been dropped. The district is pursuing purely residential options and acting as a landlord. Councilman Ricardo Ortiz from Burlingame stated "it would not be politically wise to build only housing." I agree with Ortiz, and would add that the district has absolutely no business in being a real estate developer.

I encourage voters to become familiar with the grand jury's recommendations and findings on the Peninsula Health Care District. I fully support further accountability and transparency on the district's activities. The district currently has reserves of over $61 million and apparently, despite their obligation to "buy-back," the hospital has enough cash to fund questionable residential projects.

Lawrence Cappel, chair of the Peninsula Health Care District board, stated these activities will function as a "cash hedge."

I don't believe the district should be playing "landlord" or get into the business of "hedging." The health care district's role is not a taxpayer funded "united way" to issue grants at the whim of the board. It especially is not a "property development" firm.

I fail to see how many of the activities of the Peninsula Health Care District are acting in the interest of taxpayers or health of the constituents they allegedly serve.

Doug Radtke

Millbrae

The letter writer is a candidate for the Peninsula Healthcare District Board of Directors.

http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/opinions/2014-08-27/letter-peninsula-health-care-district-is-not-a-real-estate-development-firm/1776425129065.html