By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- After voting in January to allow Massena Memorial Hospital to pursue private, non-profit status, the Town Council will ask Assemblywoman Addie Russell, D-Theresa, to sponsor legislation making MMH a quasi-municipal public benefit corporation.

“I think it’s wise to ask Assemblywoman Russell to look into the public benefit corporation avenue,” Councilman Samuel Carbone said.

Councilman Albert Nicola said he thinks the wisest plan is to allow MMH to continue trying to shed municipal status.

“Two hospital CEOs have told this board that privatization is the route to go. Two votes of the hospital board have said the same thing,” he said. “If your motion passes does that mean it stops? They’re going to do them both? They’re proceeding now.”

Councilman Tom Miller said the board knows little about the public benefit route.

“Where is the pros and cons of this. We’re bringing up something we don’t know if it’s going to fit what our model’s going to be,” he said. Gray said he hopes that can be addressed at a meeting with town and hospital leadership, plus Russell.

Several board members said there is a petition circulating around town, collecting signatures with the hope of forcing a public vote to private MMH, or keep it town-owned.

Town Supervisor Joseph Gray said a referendum would be costly, and may not be legally binding.

“If there is a petition to start a referendum … who’s going to pay for the referendum?” Gray said.

“The town,” Carbone said.

“We’re going to spend thousands of dollars for a special election?” Gray said.

Nicola said the petition may not even exist.

“It’s a rumor. We don’t know if it’s going to be binding if there is one,” he said.

Gray said the town might not be able to act on or enforce such a petition.

“The town board can’t just arbitrarily give up its authority to a referendum, nor can a referendum usurp our authority,” he said.

“Unless it’s a transfer of property,” Carbone said.

“Transfer agreement would transfer the property, but we don’t have a transfer agreement or a sale right now,” Gray said.

“So there may be at some point,” Carbone said.

Councilman Steve O’Shaughnessy pointed to a presentation from MMH CEO Robert Wolleben in December where he said his research indicated the only successful public benefit corporations in New York state are tied to university medical centers.

“I think the CEO had talked about affiliating, the other two public benefit corporation hospitals are affiliated with medical universities,” he said. “I would rather go with one of these universities if we’re going to affiliate, not Burlington.

“He was saying the hospital had to affiliate or be tied. Only hospitals that were public benefit corporation were SUNY medical schools.”

Councilman Tom Miller wasn’t happy about the hypothetical talk of affiliation.

“None of us on this board know which way this is going to go. That should be stricken,” he said. “To talk about rumors, it’s not good.”