Mercy plan advances to commission
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The tentative site plan for the new Mercy Health Systems facilities on Deerfield Drive in Janesville.
JANESVILLE — City staff says a site plan for a new Mercy Health System medical complex on the city’s northeast side answers residents’ concerns about traffic, screening and noise.
After a public hearing Monday, the plan commission will consider issuing Mercy the needed conditional-use permit to build a 24,000 square-foot facility at 3400 Deerfield Drive.
Mercy bought the 25-acre site between Walmart Supercenter and The Home Depot about 12 years ago.
City staff recommends the commission approve the request. Conditional-use permits do not need council approval.
The project has been on the fast track, with Mercy announcing its plans in June. Officials have said they hope to complete construction by year’s end. That would be just days before the new St. Mary’s Janesville Hospital and Dean Clinic Janesville opens just down Interstate 90/39.
The proposed Mercy facility is the first phase in an eventual 475,000 square-foot build-out that includes a hospital.
The conditional-use permit would allow Mercy to build a facility to house an emergency department, a clinic for five physicians and 108 parking stalls.
Mercy’s contractors already are moving dirt on the site. The city is allowing preliminary erosion and stormwater work with the understanding the land will be returned to a tillable state if the project doesn’t get final approval.
Staff said in a memo it has worked with Mercy to ease neighbors’ concerns. Staff does not believe the development will negatively impact the surrounding area, a key component in deciding whether to issue a conditional-use permit.
According to the requirements, Mercy must:
-- Secure flight plans so helicopters do not fly over homes to the east. Mercy officials have said they anticipate no more than one or two flights a year originating from the site. That could change with the future build-out, and that issue will have to be re-addressed then, said Brad Schmidt of the city’s planning department.
-- Design buildings no taller than three stories.
-- Assure residents that traffic will not be a problem. The results of a recent traffic study show no substantial traffic impacts on the surrounding road network are expected from a full build-out.
-- Manage stormwater on its own property to ease drainage problems in the areas. The stormwater retention facility built by Walmart does not work, and standing water remains a major concern for residents. Walmart is trying to repair its system.
-- Screen residents to the east. Those residents were angry after the trees that screened them from the Walmart development were removed with little notice. Staff is requiring Mercy to add evergreens and other trees to fill the gap.
Sep 27, 2011 at 7:50 p.m.
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LOL! Oops....did I know too much for you MILTONALUM? :)
Sep 21, 2011 at 10:55 p.m.
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@MiltonAlum- Really? that's all they did? Hmmmm. Then explain the addition of new nursing medical station cabinets at each patient room, that were installed during the "wall painting & trim phase". How many patients could verify hearing jack hammering, core drilling or hammer-drilling early in the morning, above or below their room? Obvious tools for painting walls, new floors, and trim work. NOT!!! Everything was removed, and remodeled to make that cabinet fit. That's why the showers are smaller now. Those cabinets can't be mistaken as being existing. Nice try!- MiltonAlum
Sep 20, 2011 at 9:56 a.m.
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PS - for those unemployed you should apply!
Do you people want jobs or do you just prefer to sit on th couch collect uc and b#$%%Y&
Sep 19, 2011 at 10:58 p.m.
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If you attended the meeting as I just did you would see my point...
Sep 19, 2011 at 7:25 p.m.
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B8nksboy, You are correct Mercy did not get state approval for updating the patient rooms, IT is not required when they put new flooring, painted the walls and added some new trim, Why the heck would you spend money for state approval for cosmetic upgrades? I agree, those showers are small but they are the original size approved in the 70's when the place was built. They do have bariatric and handicap rooms with approved size bathrooms.
Mooshoo, i hope your joking, do you think Mercy would spend a million or more on sitework without a guarantee of city approval? You dont have a clue what you are talking about so please dont.
Sep 19, 2011 at 6:30 p.m.
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Someone must have been drunk when they decided to make DEERFIELD a road with many bad curves even at 30mph. It should be interesting in the winter seeing an ambulance slide off the ice covered road as they rush to Mercy. Maybe the city might begin salting the road more than they have in the past.
Sep 19, 2011 at 4:28 p.m.
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Mercy has done lots of work without state approval first! They Remodeled all of the patient rooms in the hospital without ever getting state approvals. (It takes to long and costs a lot more money) Just check out the patient's shower room areas. Some are about 30"x 30"! How can you shower in a broom closet?
Sep 19, 2011 at 1:18 p.m.
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As far as helicopter noise- who cares-it would be saving a life. You don't like it MOVE!
Sep 19, 2011 at 1:14 p.m.
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The question I have is aabout traffic. It already has heavy volume back there. How would traffic not change. Will they go to the doc only on the days they planned for Home D?
The other thing I have to say about traffic- maybe we think the traffic is high back there because it seems more like a frontage road vs Milton Av. Before you used to use it just to get to Home D-now you go to get those other places and threw traffic to hwy 26 as well.So if you think of it as a major road then traffic is normal. IT just seems so conjested. It isn't a frontage road anymore.
Sep 19, 2011 at 12:35 a.m.
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Allfor1and1forAll, that's not how non-profit works. It is a classification. Non-profits may have plenty of extra revenue; they simply don't have owners, and don't distribute extra revenue to them.
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In the case of healthcare, there are very few price signals that consumers respond to, even when they have the opportunity (many do not, being locked into providers by their insurance). Thus prices are essentially uncontrolled in the usual way that markets are supposed to.
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We could, of course, solve this by moving to a single-payer health system, but that would be too much like those other countries who spend half as much as we do on health care, so we couldn't possibly do it.
Sep 18, 2011 at 9:48 p.m.
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You make it sound like Mercy is setting these prices, Health care is across the board outrageous, Dean, Mercy, Froedtert, any of them are all consistent in the prices for any given service so dont make it sound like Mercy is taking advantage of anyone, its healthcare as a whole that sets the precedent of a 5 thousand dollar MRI. its GE that charges 1.5 million for a CT machine. If your going to blame someone for high costs start at the problem...
Sep 18, 2011 at 9:23 p.m.
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Mercy is a nonprofit health system. So when you have a lot of money in the bank, you better pay your CEO a lot of dough and keep adding on and expanding so you don't show a profit. As much as Mercy charges for their care, they could probably build a new building in every community. Nice that they will be able to provide all kinds of services for outrageous prices.
Sep 18, 2011 at 7:53 p.m.
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They reached an agreement with the city, the permit is a formality, dont make it sound like they just decided to plow under the cornfield and build a field of dreams on a whim. They have all the right paperwork and "permission" to start.
Sep 18, 2011 at 7:15 p.m.
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Just let this project go forward. What the heck. The Janesville economy isn't exactly flush. I mean, the facility will do some good.
Sep 18, 2011 at 5:30 p.m.
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Sic 'em milton!
Sep 18, 2011 at 4:22 p.m.
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What is all this Talk about a facelift at Mercy East? That addition is far from a facelift, they are adding valuable occupational and sports rehab facilities, a rehab pool that only 2 other facilities in the state have (Brewers and Packers). Pediatric eye lanes and retail facilities used by the top doctors in the state. Far from an unnecessary facelift...And Mooshoo, no i wont have an alternative that is capable of the Trauma level of care that Mercy can offer, Only Mercy can handle the types of cases when seconds mean life or death, you wont see anyone taking trauma cases to St. Marys...
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Also Mooshoo, if you would read they have not started construction without permits, in fact they have not poured a bucket ful of concrete yet, only site work, they are waiting permits, they are just getting a head start. Go ahead and tell the people working on the construction and permanent jobs created by this life-saving facility that it is a bad idea..This is one of the best ideas I have heard in a long time.
Sep 18, 2011 at 3:08 p.m.
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They are renovating the one they already have USE IT. Dean/St. Mary's is enough by the interstate. They must FEAR losing business with the new Hospital. If they would lower their costs and show better CARE they would not worry....... A facelift does not show good patient care. Bilk the people and continue to remodel that shows the people that Mercy puts the money into THEM THEM THEM and their NICE LOOKING (lack of low cost and good care) facility
Sep 18, 2011 at 3:02 p.m.
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This is a great use of that space (considering what has already been built in the area). Citizens from Milton and the NE side of Janesville will benefit in an emergency. Easy access with the infrastructure (roads) already in-place. Mercy had a monopoly in Janesville for a very long time. Competition is good! Now they are stepping up to hold on to their turf. Nothing wrong with that.
Sep 18, 2011 at 10:34 a.m.
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These posts crack me up, constant #itching. Complaints when a business closes AND compaints when a new one is built creating jobs for the constuction industry.
Sep 18, 2011 at 9:47 a.m.
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It will be nice to have an ED on the north side of town instead of driving all the way across town at 2am with a child who is having a seizure. This is a much needed addition to the area and I certainly hope the few residents worried about a few life-saving flights from this ED a year are never in need of one themselves or I would just tell them "sorry the helicopter is too loud, you have to die now or drive across town to get that flight"
Sep 18, 2011 at 12:58 a.m.
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mg, medivac helo's arent stationed at Mercy. They come from Madison or Rockford for this area. They most likely are saying that they dont want more than one or two transports FROM the new mercy building.
Sep 17, 2011 at 10:24 p.m.
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What's most troubling is that the council will have no oversight for this permit. So much for accountability. That's why we should dump the city manager and have an elected mayor. Then, at least someone would have to answer to the electorate, unlike they way things are now.
Sep 17, 2011 at 10:13 p.m.
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It is hard to believe that helicopters will only fly one or two times per year. I think they must fly a few times each month just to keep them in operating condition. It does not make sense to have pilots on staff to fly so little. This alone should be looked into carefully.
Sep 17, 2011 at 9:16 p.m.
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Again I will say, instead of being fiscally responsible and holding down costs for their patients, they are like a bull in the china shop and running up the bill so we the people will pay more for health services! Then, in a couple of years, they will say that Dean / St. Mary's drove up costs. Where is the focus? Apparently, their wallet!
Sep 17, 2011 at 8:39 p.m.
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totally agree! They have no clue.
Sep 17, 2011 at 7:51 p.m.
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This is the most unneeded project, especially for that area....
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