TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - The Tallahassee City Commission voted in a packed chamber to allow the city manager to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with Florida State University to form FSU Health.
The final vote is scheduled for March.
At Wednesday's commission meeting, FSU President Richard McCullough said the negotiations were difficult and took time. "We arrived at a positive place," he said. "This agreement marks a significant milestone."
The city's lawyer, Mark Mustian, noted that Wednesday's vote would be to set up the memorandum of understanding (MOU), but the final agreement would be solidified on March 11.
Mustian said the MOU over who runs the new FSU Health board has not been finalized.
The city commission wanted FAMU and TSC to have a seat on the board. They agreed FSU would give one seat to FAMU, but it's not clear if TMH has agreed to give TSC a seat.
The MOU would require FSU to continue to fund indigent care at least at the current levels. FSU would also have to pay for improvements at the hospital, Mustian explained.
FSU is set to pay $109 million for the hospital over thirty years. City staff said that overall, there would be over a billion dollars in economic impact.
More Tallahassee news:
Public speakers packed the chamber Wednesday night to speak on both sides of the deal.
The first of those speakers was the FSU student body president who said a lot of students were at the meeting and are "eager to see this come to fruition."
Another public speaker said she "has nothing against FSU," but believes the decision-making will be made by the state government rather than FSU leadership.
After passionate public comment, discussion turned to the commission.
Commissioner Jeremy Matlow said while a partnership can be good, the current deal is not.
"Where people get upset has nothing to do with the future of healthcare," Matlow said. "It's the way the public is being treated."
Commissioner Jack Porter questioned why the value TMH has provided to the community is deducted from the sale price to FSU. The city manager says it because the hospital hasn't been paying rent and it's not a tangible asset the city can sell, it's a lease.
"I don't know anyone opposing better medical care or an academic medical center," Porter said. "But it's obviously much more than that."
One common theme among those opposed to the transfer is what they call a rushed timeline.
Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox said it's been long enough. "I still keep hearing about a rush. By the time this is done, it will have been a whole year," she said. "People are ready to move on."
Williams-Cox also said to not push the transfer forward would be "negligent."
Commissioner Curtis Richardson, who is in favor of the transfer, said this will be transformative for the region.
"My focus has been on providing the highest quality healthcare we can provide," Richardson said.
Mayor John Dailey said he was in full support of the motion.
Ultimately the city commission voted 3-2 to authorize the city manager to negotiate the MOU with FSU. The final vote is set for March.