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Clinic workers urge council to approve sale to Essentia Health; council says negotiations are progressing
Summary
Clinic staff and union leaders urged the Virginia City Council to support selling the city clinic building to Essentia Health to preserve local healthcare services; council members said negotiations with Essentia are moving positively and staff will continue talks.
Natalie Petrich, a lead radiology technician and local union president at the Virginia clinic, told the council she and her colleagues want the city to sell the clinic building to Essentia Health. "I'm here today on behalf of our membership and community to encourage you, the city council of Virginia, to sell the clinic building to Essentia Health," Petrich said.
Petrich said many patients travel from surrounding Northland communities to see specialists at the Essentia clinic and that local spending by patients and staff supports downtown businesses. "To remove these taxpayers from the city would only hurt the city and many of the surrounding communities," she said, urging councilors to consider Essentia's local investments and specialist services.
During council discussion, city staff and city leadership reported that negotiations with Essentia were "moving very positively." City attorney Brian and city administrator Britt Benes indicated additional information had been delivered to Essentia and that talks continued; the council did not take a formal sale vote in open session but discussed ongoing negotiations.
Later in the meeting, during a closed session on preliminary property negotiations and potential litigation, the council approved staff to proceed with steps related to a possible sale and a development agreement for a separate parcel (Parcel ID 09000100002030 and 40) and subsequently authorized executing actions discussed in closed session. Those closed-session approvals were taken by recorded motions after the closed meeting.
Councilors thanked Petrich and other clinic employees who attended. Councilor Motley said, "I don't think anybody here wants to see [the clinic] go to somebody else," and noted some contract terms limited what the council could disclose publicly. Mayor and council members expressed the importance of maintaining local health care and preserving jobs tied to the clinic.
What happens next: Councilors said staff will continue negotiations with Essentia and report back to the council. The meeting record shows no final sale or lease vote in open session on May 13.
