The hospital commissioners in charge of Summit Pacific Medical Center on Thursday revoked an earlier resolution, which would have put an annexation measure on the ballot for the Montesano area.
Hospital CEO Renée Jensen said that had the hospital kept the annexation request on the November ballot, it probably wouldn’t have done anything since the Montesano area ended up being incorporated into the new hospital district to benefit Grays Harbor Community Hospital.
If anything, Jensen cautioned, it could have set Summit Pacific up for a legal battle with the new hospital district over the Montesano area.
“There is a rare, rare possibility that we could be successful,” Jensen said. However, Summit Pacific would end up paying for the costs of the election — as well as numerous attorney bills.
“It seems like a heck of a lot of money to spend to pay for a dead horse,” said Hospital Commissioner Art Thumser of McCleary.
“Even if we won, we would lose because there’s nothing we could gain from it,” added Hospital Commissioner Chad Searls of Elma.
Mick Jones of Brady told the hospital commissioners that he plans to lead an effort to de-annex the Brady precinct from the new hospital district. Although the hospital district received 61 percent of the vote across the entire boundaries, stretching from the Satsop River to the beaches, most in Brady opposed the measure.
A precinct breakdown in Brady showed that 187 residents voted against the measure and 107 voted for it.
That means 63.6 percent voted it down.
Jensen told Jones that he would have to lead a petition campaign and get it certified by the County Auditor’s Office to get it on the ballot.
“There’s lots of interest already,” Jones said. “I haven’t had a good battle since Vietnam.”
Jensen also pledged cooperation with the new hospital district.
“Anything that community hospital needs, we’re willing to share,” she said.
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