Shock and outrage over what's been going on at Autumn Hills. Metro Council members now want the city to take immediate action at its assisted living facility out in Bordeaux.
Three years ago, the Metro Council approved a plan to let an outside company run Autumn Hills. Now they want to end that deal.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates first exposed serious problems out at Autumn Hills several months ago. Now council members say they are concerned about the residents' safety and how little the city has done to monitor that.
Councilwoman Sheri Weiner emphatically stated, "This is a cataclysmic failure," while fellow council member Scott Davis shared,"This bothers me, tremendously."
Strong words like these from one Metro council member after another at a series of council hearings to discuss the future of Autumn Hills. And what came across loud and clear was a message to the mayor's office to find a new operator for the city's assisted living facility in Bordeaux.
Councilman Jim Shulman implored, "These are people's lives at stake and we need to take responsibility."
This, after NewsChannel 5 Investigates raised questions about the past business dealings of the man Metro hired to run the place and exposed ongoing financial problems at Autumn Hills including tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills, even after Metro gave Mike Hampton's company nearly a million dollars over the last two years.
"At this point, there has been no accounting for some of the monies that were spent," Shulman announced at one of the hearings.
"I've gotten reports that the trust account for some of the 78 members there, that money has disappeared and there's a bus that's disappeared," Davis added.
Council members expressed concern that the city has never done an audit of the facility and that Autumn Hills has failed to maintain required liability insurance among other issues.
"I just have to say I'm appalled. This is a serious serious lapse on the part of us. It's not on anybody but us," Weiner told other council members.
The Mayor's office said they are now looking for a new operator and they are meeting with any and all who are interested. In the meantime, the current management team will remain in place. The mayor's office also promised that once new management is in place, they will do some sort of audit.
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