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Resolution hinges on city's quick response, Bayfront says
By BRYAN GILMER and WES ALLISON © St. Petersburg Times, published October 6, 2000 ST. PETERSBURG -- Two weeks ago, Bayfront Medical Center delivered a clear-cut, if controversial, plan for settling its differences with the city. Now the hospital and the City Council are locked in yet another tussle, this time over what documents Bayfront should provide the city and what the city should make of them. That puts any resolution at least several weeks away. "I don't think we are" close to settling, St. Petersburg City Council Chairman Larry Williams said with a sigh Thursday. "I don't think we're anywhere." From the tone of a letter Bayfront's attorneys sent the city late Wednesday, hospital officials are getting impatient. "Time is growing short for Bayfront, BayCare and the city to resolve their disputes one way or the other," attorney Steven C. Dupre wrote. "If the city is truly interested in the proposal, it needs to signal that interest now so we can set a timetable for an expeditious completion of the proposed transaction." The city sued Bayfront in federal court in April for changing some of its practices, including banning abortion, to comply with Catholic doctrine as part of its participation in the BayCare Health Alliance. Although Bayfront is privately managed, it leases much of its land from the city, and the City Council and its attorneys have contended the hospital's bow to religious doctrine is an improper union of church and state. BayCare is a union of six area hospitals, including two Catholic ones. The city and Bayfront's attempts to mediate their differences had collapsed until two weeks ago, when Bayfront proposed a settlement. It included buying the hospital land from the city for $1-million per year over 47 years and promising that it would not have to follow Catholic doctrine in the future, although it still would not offer abortions. Hospital officials have said that while some elements of the proposal may be up for negotiation, including the sale price, the sale is not: Bayfront wants control of that hospital. Last week, the City Council asked Bayfront for a long list of information, including financial details and internal documents showing how the Catholic doctrine is applied to Bayfront and BayCare. Bayfront responded late Wednesday with its own letter saying it would provide most of that material, but that some items were impractical to compile. Dupre, the attorney, wrote that the city's request was "extraordinarily broad." When the City Council was briefed on that letter Thursday afternoon, several council members seemed unimpressed. "It's kind of like eight pages of "Do you want to sell?' " Williams said. The council scheduled a meeting for 6 p.m. next Thursday to talk about the letter, the documents and the settlement efforts. It voted to exclude the public from that discussion. Once the council has digested Bayfront's settlement offer, and if it decides it still wants to consider it, council members have promised to hold public hearings. The legal fight has cost both sides hundreds of thousands of dollars for highly specialized attorneys, and it has frayed the patience of everyone involved. "We've got to get out of this mess," Williams said.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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