Warren County Freeholders on Thursday held their second and final public hearing on Warren Haven, the latest step in a process that apparently will end with the sale of the county-owned nursing home.
The freeholders now have a 90-day period in which they can't finalize the sale. However, that doesn't mean they can't take steps towards selling Warren Haven, which county officials say has gotten too costly to maintain.
"If you look at the transactions that have moved to date -- we've hired a consultant, we've done a subdivision, we've had two public hearings regarding the sale -- I think it's pretty transparent which direction the board is moving in," Freeholder Director Edward Smith said following the hearing.
He wouldn't say the sale was an absolute, because it's a decision that needs to come from the full board.
But for some people who have been fighting to keep Warren Haven - based in Mansfield Township - in county hands, it seems as though the decision has been made.
"It makes me feel lied to. It makes me feel betrayed," said C.J. Van Gieson, one of three people who spoke at Thursday's hearing.
She read a prepared statement in which she said accused a "vile political machine" of driving the sale forward in lieu of other options, such as bringing in new management for Warren Haven, or turning it into a non-profit.
Opponents of the sale worry the level of care will change if Warren Haven becomes a privately-held nursing facility.
Speakers Thursday also suggested the freeholders would use the money from the sale for other projects.
Smith rejected that argument, saying that the county had in fact held off on other work because of the cost of Warren Haven.
According to a pre-sale report compiled for the county by Finelli Consulting Engineers, Warren County lost $4.6 million in 2013 on running Warren Haven. The sale of the property would generate a minimum of $8 million.
The county had held a previous hearing in Belvidere last month, which drew about two dozen people and four speakers.
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