DAYTON — Dayton residents attended a Dayton City Commission meeting on Wednesday to express concerns about the lack of progress on a planned public hospital.
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Voters approved a property tax levy last November to fund the facility, but a planned vote on an emergency resolution to move the project forward was delayed.
The emergency resolution requires four votes to pass.
Commissioners were unable to vote Wednesday because Mayor Shenise Turner Sloss was absent and Commissioner Fairchild was conflicted out of the vote, leaving the commission without the necessary four votes.
Members of the Clergy Community Coalition organized attendance at the meeting to push for movement on the hospital project.
Nancy Kiehl, a representative with the Clergy Community Coalition, explained why the group mobilized residents to address city leaders.
“We organized the event this evening as far as bringing people to the the City Commission meeting to address the fact that there was not movement,” Kiehl said.
The push for a new health care facility follows the 2018 closure of Good Samaritan Hospital, which operated for over eight decades in the area.
The lot where the hospital once stood currently remains empty.
Kiehl noted that the hospital’s closure severely affected local health care access.
“The loss of Good Samaritan Hospital had a major impact on the community of West and Northwest Dayton on health issues,” Kiehl said. “It created a health desert.”
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Jacob Davis, senior policy adviser to the mayor, addressed the delay in the commission’s voting process.
“We had it as an emergency tonight, so that requires four votes,” Davis said. “And Commissioner Fairchild is conflicted out and unable to vote. So we didn’t have the four votes tonight, but next week we will.”
Davis added that city officials are actively preparing the board structure required for the project.
“We are currently in the process of vetting potential board members that is compliant with the ordinance that have the skills and the experience necessary to guide public hospital initiatives,” Davis said.
Davis emphasized the mayor’s intention to oversee the new board once established.
“The mayor is committed to doing this work,” Davis said. “She’s committed to being the chairperson of the board as the ordinance called for.”
Commissioners Fairchild and Darius Beckham both stated they plan to support the mayor in the upcoming vote.
Residents who spoke during the public meeting stated they want their property tax dollars put to good use.
The Dayton City Commission plans to vote on the resolution next week.
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