Show Hospital Case Goes To Supreme Court By LE ANN BLODGETT After complimenting the counsel on the tine Utah Supreme Court Justice declared a which is expected to last until IN THE the people of Davis County await the decision as to whether they can go ahead with hospital construction as planned by the medical society and county Kenneth W. who filed the class was not in the nor was he in Second District Court last fall when the judge used the word to describe the PETE Attorney for made a ten minute pointing out three basic He attempted to establish the fact that Gardner is a proper person to bring class as he is a resident of Davis a property owner and a former told the five judges that the important thing was the wording on the ballot that was presented to the people when they voted on the bond THE BALLOT stated that Davis County would incur and issue general obligation bonds to mature in not more than 35 for the purpose of paying part of hospital facilities and the acquisition of suitable plant iff 's position is very simple-they can build hospital even with the funds they have right they should be required to he HE REFERRED to situation where a in County held a bond election for high school Finding insufficient they tried to abandon the but the court held they must do what the bond election had as closely as objected to the way the county commission had declared the property After purchasing two sites for the planned hospitals-one in one in the property later declared when it was found the project was not FEDERAL funding and traditions on building hospitals making it impossible for the county to proceed with the plans as outlined in the brochure explaining the bond Peterson pointed contended that the commission should go back to the He said the ballot did not say good of a AT THAT one judge questioned every bond issue do tax payers have the right to say whether they have the right to spend the money as stated or Adding that can't take the million and go out and build public is not an issue Davis County Attorney Bennett Peterson then took approximately minutes for a He explained the outgrowth of events that had brought the case to this THESE events began years With the rapid growth of Davis the commission was interested in the health As early as 1965 the commission was empowered to assess different In 1967 they personally interviewed with officials of the Catholic and churches owners of Salt Lake's principle They were informed forcefully that those sponsoring agencies were not going to build he PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 2 Hospital Case To Supreme Court I CONTINUED FROM FRONT THE RESIDENTS of Davis County then made inquiry of federal They were informed it would be available for construction and facilities and were told they would be an acceptable applicant for those They made an application and were found to be in a priority The county passed a bond issue to the level of their bond indebtedness capacity in the amount of that major and important changes Peterson told the The primary change was the federal hospital funding program In 1973 there were no funds at The year it was cut back so substantial that the totality of Utah's share was per directed for hospital not hospital Davis County found itself in a whole new with the funds needed cut THE ADMINISTRATION began once again to look for ways to fill this There has been no denial that there is an urgent need for hospital services in Davis County to serve the fast growing INQUIRIES were made of private hospital firms and a hospital study committee toured hospitals throughout the They found that hospitals aren't being built by counties and charitable The new trend is toward hospitals being constructed by private tax paying Peterson continued the five Supreme Court Judges sat in their stately black only thing that could have been was CONCEPT that we should work under the law and not under the whims of men is carried too far when the circumstances are not subject to amendments he explained how everything was done without secrecy and is a matter of public The account of the problems and procedures were public record and were carried in the news media as well as public meetings that were held to educate the HE TOLD the court that the money would be used for the retirement of the bonds and nothing The money is being held in A judge commented money was for the purpose of building hospitals and you come along and say it was for the purpose of retiring PETERSON comin 9 theory of a bond election is held that not be departed the purpose to be full mean there would be no J that decision at the B elected officials of the coS M To proceed m that JM destructive to the and cuS elected officials the needed respond to changing situations W IS is say it M and then put a period the courts have to stand In iv A lion of ratifying acts of county it seems to me we open 3 to a multitude of problems S son THE JUDGE commented it comes back to county bond elections don't mean very Attorney Robert the Davis County Medical Audi presented a He said question a bonding He said the answer was cited a case that was also in given to the court HE POINTED out that if the ball was to be interpreted ii'S two not which virtually The judge pointed out that voted for impossible acts before iS had to go ahead with PLAINTIFF Attorney said that was ng-fl show the county was made whole fM expending of the bond claimed that the best route to the people and ask them via the When he used the word the judge saying the word used on the ballet hospital and not to use tit i He better about that 1 VLAHOS brought up the saying the county could to a penalty by drawing interest i bonds and making a Internal Revenue Service into The matter awaits a should be forthcoming in the two private are anxiously waiting it come to determine the validity i purpose of the sites from the CONSTRUCTION will not the legal |