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 The first person to speak was Dr. Keith Ray. Ray is the former
president of Lincoln Christian University and the current Senior
Vice-president of Christian Homes.
Ray began by offering some information about Christian Homes on the
whole. Ray said that Christian Homes is a leading national senior
long-term care corporation and the second largest such company in
the United States. Christian Homes and Christian Village has been in
Lincoln for 50 years.
He offered some statistics on what is going on in the world of
senior health care. He said that every 10 seconds someone in the
world turns 60 years of age. He said it was the largest and fastest
growing demographic in the world, and would continue to be so over
the next 20 years.
He drove home the point saying, “By the year 2018, there will be
more walkers than there will be strollers. It is the demographic of
the future, and for the first time in the world there will be more
60-year-olds than there will five-year-olds, and it will never be
different.” He ended saying the era is becoming known as the Silver
Tsunami.
 Ray then turned the floor over the Jo Hilliard, the administrator of
the local facility.
Hilliard explained that there is a need to expand the Lincoln
facility to accommodate the growth of the aging population. She said
that engineers and architects had looked at various ways in which to
do an expansion, and have concluded the best would be to build a new
building on top of what is now Seventh Street. In order to do that
Christian Homes will need to request a vacation of Seventh Street
from the city.
Hilliard provided the council with a project outline that addressed
some of the needs of the village and its residents. The proposed
expansion would include a new state-of-the-art therapy gym, more
private rooms, and family friendly areas for visitors.
The document also defined some of the current issues the village
sees with Seventh Street. The list includes congestion, occasional
high-speed traffic, and the fact that the Village campus is divided.
The changes that the group would like to implement include closing
Seventh Street from Postville Drive to Main Street. They would then
build one new building that would expand the skilled nursing portion
of the village. The new building would be located atop the old
Seventh Street and the parking lot on the north side of that street.
Seventh Street from Postville Drive to the new building would become
a private driveway with a Cul-De-Sac at the entrance to the new
building. A canopy and drive through drop off would be added to the
existing congregate building. Private drives and fire lanes would be
added, with one new driveway attaching to Eighth Street.
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A new 12-bed facility would be built south of the skilled
nursing facility, along Main Street with a parking lot between
the new building and the skilled nursing building. Hilliard
said that engineering studies had shown that in order to do this
there were going to be underground utility issues that would have to
be addressed. She said the study shows there is a water main, gas
main, and some telephone and cable lines that will have to be worked
out with area utility companies. She said there was a meeting
scheduled for October 30th with some of those utilities to discuss
what can be done.
Hilliard said there have been talks with residents around the
outside edge of the village and other parties that might be affected
by this change. She said the response has been positive, and in
general, the immediate neighborhood is supportive of the changes the
Village is proposing.
She noted that though it will appear that Seventh Street is closed,
there will be driveways that would permit fire and other emergency
services to pass from Main to Postville in emergency situations. She
said the group had also looked at whether or not there was
sufficient room for fire trucks to turn around in the new design,
and there is.
City administrator Clay Johnson commented that there are several
details that are still up in the air. He said fire protection issues
and water issues would need to be addressed further, but he felt
there was nothing that couldn’t be worked out.
At this time, there is no action required by the city council.
Further work and studies will be completed, with the city
administrator involved. Hilliard said when those details are more
fully worked out, the Village will come back with a petition to
vacate Seventh Street.
[Nila Smith]
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