County council hits pause on Portage Manor so ideas to save it can develop

SOUTH BEND — Compelled by 49 people who spoke passionately to support the county home — including staff and some of its 101 residents — the St. Joseph County Council voted 9-0 Tuesday to delay voting on the closure of Portage Manor for 60 days.

The move, council members said, gives local people a chance to develop financially sound, viable plans for saving the home for low-income people with mental illness and disabilities.

Such plans include that of Dr. Sylvana Atallah of Granger, who wasn’t aware of Portage Manor’s financial troubles — and the prospect of its closing — until early last week, who now is proposing to acquire it herself, renovate it and keep it running with the addition of a memory care unit and private-pay residents.

Emerging proposal:Granger doctor proposes plan for acquiring, saving Portage Manor

Atallah told The Tribune this week that, after just a preliminary run of the numbers, she believes she could turn a profit in the century-old building, which is long overdue for renovations. She’d submitted an early proposal to the council on Sunday and spoke at Tuesday’s meeting.

She affirmed that she would keep the current residents.

Most of the people in the packed council chambers didn’t know Atallah, an independent physician who treats patients in nursing homes and care facilities, but they urged the council to give the home to her, even for a $1 donation.

Ultimately, those pleading to save Portage Manor urged the council to “hit pause,” to give a chance for newly budding alternatives to emerge. They argued that the home has saved the lives of hard-to-place residents who’d bumped around other facilities before finding stability at Portage Manor.

Deep dive:Humans, bricks and land deals: Answers as Portage Manor nears possible closure

County commissioners had voted 2-1 to close the home and provide about $3 million of American Rescue Plan dollars for salary incentives to keep the staff through the closure. Their plan was to use help from Fort Wayne consultants to help settle the current residents in housing elsewhere in the community. Both measures just needed the council’s approval Tuesday to take effect.

But, after the overwhelming support, Commissioner Derek Dieter asked the council on behalf of him and Commissioner Carl Baxmeyer — the two who'd supported closure — for the 60-day delay.

“Whoever wants to make a plan, make a plan,” Dieter said.

He also said he’ll ask the council to appoint a point person among them and a plan to guide the 60-day window for accepting proposals and plans.

Residents speak

One resident, Karen, credited the home with helping her after she had a stroke, with on-site physical therapy to help her walk again, even as she uses a rollator.

“I love it, I don’t want to leave my roommate.”

“I’m a different man because of that place,” Timothy, 58, said of the six months that he’s lived at Portage Manor.

He spoke of wildlife that comes “within arm’s length,” as the home is sandwiched between farm fields and woods along an otherwise busy Portage Avenue.

“It has a feeling of serenity and peace,” he said.

“I believe Portage Manor is my brother’s true family, his chosen family,” said Laura McLellan, who lives in Ohio but was in town to visit her brother at Portage Manor and family in their native Mishawaka.

One man said his sister bounced between hospital, jail and the streets in California because of her condition. He said it took him three years to find her.

Then, because she’s too young for nursing homes, he said: “Portage Manor was the only place that took her. Portage Manor is a gem in this community. It should be expanded.”

Questions raised

Portage Manor’s current administrator said a family member suffered from multiple mental illnesses until she succumbed to a drug overdose. She asked The Tribune to quote her anonymously because she has a protective order against a man, who does not know where she works.

“We did not know a place like Portage Manor existed,” she said. “It would have been an opportunity to save her. We’ve been saving lives for 100 years.”

Whether or not the building is kept, she urged the council to preserve the “mission” of serving the same clientele, even perhaps through a private owner, saying, “The county has absolutely no business running this home.”

Deb Lambert, CEO of Byron Wellness Systems in Fort Wayne, agreed with the administrator, as she joined those speaking against the resolution to close the home. The county was planning to contract Lambert and six other Byron employees to assist with settling residents through the closure.

But Lambert said Tuesday, “It needs to be run by a not-for-profit, like most county homes have gone to."

Byron likewise is a former county home.

Republican council member Dan Schaetzle asked her if Byron was able to place all of Portage Manor’s 101 residents in other homes.

Lambert, who noted that she did once close another facility herself, said, “I will not allow those residents to go homeless … We will work to find placements.”

She also said that, while she helped Portage Manor last summer as a county-hired consultant, she urged state officials in Indianapolis to boost the reimbursements that the home receives for several residents from the Residential Care Assistance Program. That would help the home to perhaps break out of its annual deficits. Council Democrat Mark Catanzarite said a state legislator is now seeking such a boost in RCAP dollars.

Schaetzle had also questioned Atallah. He asked if the doctor had the capital to do the needed renovations. He said he’s a former hospital administrator and noted that banks typically want a developer to have 20% to 40% of the needed capital for a project.

“Do you have $2 million to $3 million?” he asked her.

“Not in my bank account,” Atallah replied. When Schaetzle asked, she roughly estimated renovations at $8 million, but said she’d break them down and do them over the course of years, one wing at a time. She’d use income from private-paying residents to help support the home.

The county had gotten estimates of $9 million to $12 million to renovate the building and to add bathrooms so that it would qualify for Medicaid waiver reimbursements.

Indiana Landmarks has also offered to help seek historic preservation tax credits to support renovations.

Atallah had already been working on a business plan for an assisted living facility that she’d start.

Agencies show support

Anne Watson, executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Joseph County, said she knows Atallah personally and vouched for her as “thoughtful, caring and intelligent.”

Watson also said that St. Vincent has been supporting Portage Manor residents since the home’s beginnings in 1905. That continues today with such aid as clothing vouchers.

“These folks are our most vulnerable citizens,” she said. “Honor their human dignity.”

Portage Township Trustee Jason Critchlow said his office, which offers aid to the needy, is ready and willing to join any community effort or discussion to save Portage Manor.

He argued for a delayed vote, saying the community is willing to forgive even “unpopular decisions … if they feel there’s been proper discourse.”

“We are not quite at that point yet,” he said.

Pete Agostino said he was willing to risk his role as deputy county attorney to speak against closing the home. He said the U.S. Constitution provides for the government to “promote the general welfare,” and he added, “Keeping Portage Manor open serves that purpose.”

He said the county needs to consider adding a tax to finance the home, which he said state law would permit. One of the partners in Agostino’s law firm, Mike Misch, is a county attorney and former Portage Manor board member who has said he believes the home couldn’t support itself even after renovations. But Agostino said he was speaking for himself and his law firm.

Kelly Havens of Granger, who often speaks in favor of conservative measures, said government tends to get involved in costly programs where it shouldn’t be.

But, along with services like the police, she said, “Looking after people who can’t look after themselves is something government should fundamentally do. This program has run effectively for many years.”

Time for testimony welcomed

Originally, council Republican Randall Figg had proposed limiting discussion on the Portage Manor resolution to 30 total minutes of public comments against the measures, then 30 total minutes in favor. Rafael Morton, a council Democrat, balked at that, saying he was willing to stay past midnight, as some meetings have gone in the past, if that’s what it took.

“Look at the room,” he said, “it’s packed.”

Republican Amy Drake, responded, “I’m in favor of anyone who wants to speak speaking.”

With that, the council dumped the 30-minute limit. Testimonies to support the home ran nearly 2.5 hours.

Only three people spoke in favor of the council’s measures to close Portage Manor, a total of about nine minutes. One of them, Joseph Varga, thanked the council for opening up a long-overdue public discussion, saying, “There are a lot of good people on both sides who care.”

When public comments finished, Drake said, “I’m glad it is out now, it’s important to bring it up so it can be discussed.”

She said she and fellow Republican Joseph Thomas had struggled with what to do about the home’s dilemma between its need for renovations and its deficits.

Schaetzle pointed out safety worries for residents of the home, which lacks a fire suppression system. Catanzarite, who has served as a firefighter, countered that the home has a “state of the art fire detection system.”

Ultimately, Schaetzle emphasized that any plan for saving the home must have a strong financial footing.

South Bend Tribune reporter Joseph Dits can be reached at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: County council commissioners delay vote on closing Portage Manor