The deal is in place, and soon another piece of property will be transferred from the hands of a business to the city of New Carlisle. Belle Manor, the great New Carlisle nursing home, is coming into its final year of existence.
After the move, the city will take on the main building as well as the multiple houses and out buildings also used by the business. Belle Manor was recently sold to Vancrest, the owners of Dayview nursing home, and a massive expansion is underway at the Dayview property in order to consolidate all patients at that location. Belle Manor currently costs Vancrest over $18,000 a year in property taxes and thousands in upkeep. The decision to dump the property on the city was a no-brainer. Fortunately, the city does not have to pay property taxes on city-owned property. Conversely, the city won’t receive property taxes from the property as they have in the past from Belle Manor, either.
The good outweighs the bad, though. Here are the top 5 reasons this acquisition is a great thing for the city.
5. Our Council Members Need Offices
Have you ever heard of a city where the council members weren’t provided with fancy cars, cell phones, laptops and expense accounts? What if I told you our council members don’t even have their own offices? I know. It’s totally bonkers. But guess what, our council members receive none of the above. It’s high time we treat these public servants with the honor and respect they deserve and at the very least provide them with an office. Belle Manor is equipped with nearly 100 rooms that could make wonderful offices, which will be used by council to selflessly serve our great city.
I don’t think something like this is asking too much when it comes to our civic leaders.
4. Make a Man Cave or a Hen House
The stress of the day can take its toll on anyone, but when it comes to serving the city of New Carlisle the stress that we all feel is multiplied by 10. The public servants of this town need a place to wind down and pop open a cold one at lunch or before heading home. I’m calling for the installation of a Man Cave so the gents can sit on the couch and watch a big game on a sweet screen or have a poker day. For the gals of the town, a nice parlor filled with Readers’ Digests, Pinterest boards, and Judge Judy on the big screen will probably suffice. Our hardworking city ladies need a nice place to sit and gossip about what they read about so-and-so on Facebook.
3. Save Those Whirlpools
It’s no secret that nursing homes utilize whirlpool baths for rehabilitation. I’m sure if the circumstances are right the folks at Vancrest would leave behind a tub or two. What better way to kick off the work day than a nice dip in a whirlpool tub? Imagine having to repair a water main in the dead of winter. Or having to scrub gang members’ graffiti off the bike trail. Or scooping up road kill on Jefferson. Or tossing dough at one of our many pizza places. Not fun. Knowing that you can finish those grueling tasks with a nice warm bath would surely make these folks’ day.
Who wouldn’t want a good soak in this thing?!?!?
4. The Bigger The Better
New Carlisle has approximately 5000 men, women and children. Since building an arena is most likely out of the question, it only makes sense that our city building is large enough to house the entire population for events such as council meetings and joint government meetings. Turning good folks away due to a packed house should never happen and thanks to Belle Manor it never will.
Another benefit of a compound this massive is we now have a place that can house every citizen of New Carlisle in the event of a terrorist attack. The buildings can be easily fortified, and we can store weapons on hand. A combination armory/war bunker makes too much sense in today’s world.
It’s beautiful, and we need it.
5. Our Streets Are Disgusting
The city pays nearly $2000 a month in rent at their current building. Some suggest that, although there won’t be rent at Belle Manor, there will certainly be other (apparently) unforeseen expenses such as utilities, adapting the building, and various upkeep projects. These people are just stupid haters trying to stir the pot. Belle Manor is the dream City Building/Community Center we’ve all been looking forward to since the Madison School debacle. Some of these same haters think that any available funds should be utilized on our crumbling streets. Sure, our streets might be infested with chuckholes, but so are other streets in America and the rest of the world. It can also be argued that our crumbling streets won’t be as noticeable when all eyes are directed towards our nice new community center.
Let’s move the attention from this to something nice.
What do YOU think about the Belle Manor transition? Sound off in the comments below and let your voice be heard!