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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2009 > December > 20
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Editorial: This is no way to land cancer center
Right before the November election, Miami Twp. officials hurriedly announced — to the surprise of a lot of people locally — that a $170 million cancer treatment center was going to be built at the Austin Pike interchange.
That could yet happen. But the township took a bow prematurely.
Optivus Proton Therapy Inc., of California, runs one of six proton therapy centers in the country. The privately owned, for-profit company is eager to expand in Ohio.
Proton therapy targets tumors more intensely and precisely than traditional radiation treatment. It can be especially useful in attacking cancers on the brain, for example, or the spinal cord. Though the therapy doesn’t have the harsh side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, it’s not routinely used because it’s so expensive.
Optivus officials want to locate at the Austin Pike development because of Dayton’s proximity to both Cincinnati and Columbus. They’re seriously looking at building there, but the hurdles are significant.
A developer recently gave up on bringing a proton treatment center to Columbus because capital is so tight. (It also didn’t help that the local hospitals opposed the project.)
Miami Twp. is ecstatic that it has the chance to court Optivus. But it’s gone about the effort all wrong. It has kept its efforts under wraps, saying Optivus has insisted on a confidentiality agreement. But c’mon.
This project is expensive and wildly complicated. If it’s really going to come together, making that happen will require partners beyond the township.
What do you want to bet that Optivus could have been persuaded that it was in the company’s interest to have more people around the table — if Miami Twp. officials were willing to recognize their own need for wider support?
Might the township also be overly concerned about keeping the deal quiet because it wants to be certain that the company locates on the land it owns at Austin Pike?
Meanwhile, there’s this: Miami Twp. Trustee Deborah Preston took a $5,000 campaign contribution from the owner of Optivus, Jon Slater. When questions were raised about why a Californian would be contributing so much to a lowly township trustee, that’s when officials went public with their important news.
Then Ms. Preston gave the money back because, she said, she didn’t want the donation to be a distraction.
Though Mr. Slater and Miami Twp. Administrator Greg Hanahan say otherwise, this deal never would have been announced so early in the process if Ms. Preston had not had to explain the campaign contribution.
The project wasn’t cooked then — and still isn’t.
Developers normally don’t want to go public with their plans until they’ve talked to all the people whose help they’re going to need and until they have their plans in place.
When they’re trying to raise money from investors, it’s bad form to create expectations that you may have to back down from later.
Ms. Preston’s willingness to take such a big donation (and Mr. Slater’s willingness to give it) is another indication that decisions weren’t thought out carefully.
Certainly, after the problem in Columbus, you’d think Optivus would be concerned about Dayton hospitals’ reaction. If they’re hostile — for competitive or other reasons — that can complicate the company’s efforts.
The more people who are consulted early on about the effort, the less chance there is for it to fall off track for the wrong reasons.
Optivus’ initiative here has implications across the state. Mr. Slater wants to raise part of the capital he needs by using Miami Twp.’s bonding authority to sell tax-free bonds. The loans would be backed by levying a tax on the treatment patients receive.
That would assure investors of a revenue stream, provided, of course, the center is able to draw patients from a wide area.
Ohio law allows developers to take this route — effectively imposing a tax on themselves — in cities, but not in townships. Some developers and local governments are lobbying the legislature to give townships the same ability.
Optivus’ Mr. Slater says this financing option would help him get the center built, but he’s committed to going forward even without the assistance.
What’s not to like?
A high-tech cancer treatment center with perhaps several hundred high-paying jobs, drawing patients from hundreds of miles?
A first-class anchor at Austin Pike, just the sort that local officials have hoped to bring to one of the best undeveloped chunks of real estate in Montgomery County?
This would all be great news if Miami Twp. were working with the very people it needs and one of its officials hadn’t tainted the effort by accepting a campaign donation that she should have known would compromise her.
There’s an opportunity here that has potentially positive region-wide implications. But, as a community, we aren’t taking a regional approach to vetting the company or making sure it gets the attention it deserves.
This is not the way to create new jobs.
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