Hospital trying bond measure again

Voters have twice defeated funds for new facility

LANCASTER — The Antelope Valley Healthcare District Board of Directors will try for a third time to gain voter approval of a $400 million bond measure to finance a new hospital to replace the aging Antelope Valley Hospital facility.

The Board voted, Wednesday, to place the bond measure on the June 7 primary ballot, with Director Michael Rives as the lone dissenting vote.

“Here we go again,” Rives said, in referring to the two prior failed efforts.

“We’re using the same model,” he said. “I think we need to get the public involved.”

With original buildings dating to 1955, the not-forprofit Antelope Valley Hospital faces constraints of physical space and a pressing need to meet current state seismic standards, for which a significant portion of the hospital could be deemed unusable if not addressed. These areas can not be retrofitted to meet today’s standards.

Some retrofitting has been done, and the District received an extension from the state to 2030 to meet the required standards.

“I just think that we have eight years to 2030 to come up with something different,” Rives said. “I just believe that we should step back, have community meetings, have the public tell us what kind of hospital they want.”

Rives argued that the proposed multi-story hospital would be unwise, given the proximity to the San Andreas Fault, the same issue he said faces Palmdale Regional Medical Center.

“In the event of an earthquake, I can bet you that Palmdale’s (hospital) not going to be around,” he said.

Board Chairman Dr. Abdallah Farrukh countered that a new hospital has been planned for 20 years, with public input during that time.

The existing structure is outdated and a new one is needed to meet future needs.

“You’re not going to block the future. We need this hospital,” he said.

Antelope Valley Hospital CEO Ed Mirzabegian said the bond measure is one of several approaches being tried to get a new hospital facility built.

Last month, the Board approved a Letter of Intent with a private firm that facilitates investment in federally designated zones targeted for economic development.

The firm is the middleman in the federal program, directing investment from private companies to projects in these zones, Mirzabegian said, last month.

On Wednesday, Mirzabegian said it would be “hopefully February” that they know if that financing will progress.

In the meantime, there are deadlines for getting a measure on the June ballot that must be met, he said.

The District has twice gone to the voters and failed to garner the necessary votes to pass a bond measure.

Measure H, which asked for voter approval for $350 million in bonds, failed in November 2018 to reach the two-thirds threshold required for passage. Voters split 61.54% for the measure and 38.46% against it. It required 66.66% to pass.

The second try, also for $350 million, fared worse in the March 2020 primary election, also failing to garner the required two-thirds vote necessary to pass. Measure AV received 48.11% of the votes in favor and 47.85% opposed.

The latest bond measure will also require two-thirds of the vote in favor to pass.