Citizens who express an interest in the Presbyterian Homes of Georgia Continuing Care Retirement Community proposed for Rocky Branch Road in Oconee County are being sent materials about an existing facility, Presbyterian Village in Austell, west of Atlanta.
Michelle Morris, director of marketing for the Cobb County complex, told me materials are not available yet for the Oconee County facility and that the Austell materials are illustrative of what will be provided when the local facility is being marketed.
The Austell Presbyterian Village is operated by one of eight nonprofit organizations headed by Frank McElroy Jr. of Quitman, in Brooks County on the Florida border. Despite the name, the organizations claim no formal relationship to the Presbyterian Church.
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| Austell Brochures |
The Austell Presbyterian Village contains cottages, residential apartments, assisted living facilities, a health services center and a memory support program, all of which are proposed for the Oconee County facility.
PHG Plans to Shift Facility
Presbyterian Homes of Georgia has submitted plans to the Oconee County Planning Department that would shift its approved residential retirement facility from Bishop Farms Parkway off Experiment Station Road near Butler’s Crossing to Rocky Branch Road.
The $77 million facility would include cottages, villas, an apartment building, a health services center and a support building and be located on the south side of Rocky Branch Road west of the Rowan Oak gated community and across from Old Waverly subdivision.
The PHG facility would be on a 96-acre tract rezoned in 1996 for the Autumn Glen subdivision. Though streets and some other infrastructure were built on the site, no homes were constructed, and the site currently is closed to the public with a cable stretched across its entrance.
Oconee Facility on Web Site
The Presbyterian Village (Athens/Oconee County) currently is listed as a proposed facility on the Presbyterian Homes of Georgia web site.
When I contacted Morris, the Austell marketing director, on Oct. 3 and asked her about the web site listing, she sent me the Austell materials after I assured her I am more than 62 years old.
The package of materials she sent is colorful and contains pictures of mostly gray-haired people smiling and interacting with each other.
Brochures List Austell Costs
The programs and services that are part of the cottage program include maintenance, housekeeping, a wellness program, activities and optional dining services. These are covered by a monthly rental fee of $2,180, with a charge of an additional $590 for a second person.
In addition, residents must pay an entrance fee ranging from $305,000 to $419,000, based on the floor plan and features for the cottage.
Apartment residents in Austell pay from $2,175 to $3,615 per month, with a second person paying an additional $900 per month. The fee includes two meals per day and all utilities, except for telephone.
Assisted living costs for a private apartment are $4,540 per month. Memory Support Assisted Living costs from $4,630 to $5,650 per month, depending on type of unit. Health Services costs are $227 per day for a semi-private room and $242 per day for a private room.
Single persons wishing to join the Austell Presbyterian Village pay $300 as a nonrefundable application fee. Couples pay $400.
The Austell services include a chaplain, on-site worship services, “and other spiritual life programs.”
McElroy Officer in Nine Corporations
The Georgia Secretary of State corporate database lists McElroy as an officer in nine corporations, eight of them 501( c ) tax exempt organizations. The ninth is a for-profit corporation called Residential Rental Properties Inc.
The oldest of these is Presbyterian Home, Quitman, Inc., founded in 1946. Today it is listed as a nursing home.
Calvin Court, Atlanta, Inc., was founded in 1962, followed by Phillips Tower, Decatur, Inc. These are listed today as senior independent living facilities.
Westminster Presbyterian Homes Inc. was created in 1977, according to the Secretary of State database.
The 2008 tax records for Westminster Presbyterian Homes, however, list 1998 as the year of formation. According to those tax records, Westminster Presbyterian Homes is doing business as “Presbyterian Village Athens/OC.”
Presbyterian Homes of Georgia Inc. was created in 1985 under the name of Peach State Presbyterian Homes. The name was changed to Presbyterian Homes of Georgia in 1997. According to the 2010 tax records, PHG provides support to other tax exempt entities.
The narrative for the rezone application for the Oconee County facility was filed under the name of Presbyterian Homes of Georgia.
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| Autumn Glen from Old Waverly Entrance |
Presbyterian Village, Austell, Inc. was created in 1985 and is listed as a Continuing Care Retirement Community.
Presbyterian Home, Quitman, Retirement Inc. was created in 2003 and is listed as a nursing facility.
Presbyterian Hospice and Palliative Care Center Inc. was created in 2005 and is listed as a hospice center. It is in Quitman.
Residential Rental Properties, the for profit corporation, was created in 1996. The PHG tax records list Residential Rental Properties as a “related organization” with the primary activity of “rental houses.” Since Residential Rental Properties is a for profit corporation, its tax records are not public.
The tax records for Presbyterian Homes of Georgia lists Westminster Presbyterian Homes, which is doing business as Presbyterian Village for Athens and Oconee County, as a marketing office.
Sixteen Officers, Directors and Others
The 2010 tax returns for Westminster Presbyterian Homes list 16 officers, directors and others, with McElroy as president and CEO, W. Glenn Doak Jr., as chair, and James L. Newland as treasurer.
Doak is senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Athens.
Newland is an Athens businessman and on the board of directors of Boys and Girls Clubs of Athens.
Only McElroy and Dianne Arrendale, CFO, from Quitman, receive any compensation from Westminster Presbyterian Homes, according to the tax records. McElroy received $311,458 in base compensation and an additional $13,939 in other compensation in 2010, the most recent records available.
Arrendale received $131,173 in base compensation and $10,129 in additional compensation.
For both McElroy and Arrendale, the compensation is reported as coming from “related organizations.” The 2010 tax returns for Presbyterian Homes of Georgia list the compensation as coming from that nonprofit.
The PHG proposal for Oconee County is under review by the Northeast Georgia Regional Commission. It is scheduled to be before the Oconee County Planning Commission on Nov. 19 and the Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 4.
1 comment:
Anyone thinking of investing such a substantial sum and agreeing to such a monthly payment should request information about the relationship between the "for profit" corporation and the nonprofit.
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