HEMBY BRIDGE -- Selling Carolinas Medical Center-Union would be a big mistake, Hemby Bridge aldermen say.

The town signed a resolution Thursday opposing the sale of the hospital following months of discussion among county commissioners.

Some commissioners say selling it would pay off a chunk of the county’s nearly $700 million debt. No official offers have been made, but the county estimates the hospital’s worth at around $200 million, with some projections as high as $300 million.

Selling CMC-Union is taking residents’ health care to “auction it off,” Hemby Bridge mayor and former county commissioner Kevin Pressley said.

Pressley said he is not opposed to minimizing the county’s debt, but jeopardizing locals’ health care isn’t the way to do it. Calling CMC-Union “a political football,” Pressley said money should not come before people’s safety and well-being.

“I’m tired of political motivation causing disruption in Union County,” he said.

Hemby Bridge alderman Chris Baker lives closer to Presbyterian Hospital in Matthews, but said many of his friends and some family members use CMC-Union.

Baker worries that commissioners will sell the hospital before divulging how it will be used. “They don’t have any right to do that,” he said.

If sold, the buyer might make the hospital “twice as nice,” Baker said, or turn it into a facility open only to certain people instead of the general public.

Baker also wonders whether the county tax rate and hospital visits will cost more if selling CMC-Union doesn’t generate as much money as estimated.

“A lot of time and a lot of money has been invested in this (hospital),” Pressley said, and “to sell it at any time would be the wrong thing to do.”

Marshville, Monroe and Wingate also signed a resolution opposing the hospital’s sale.

There is power in group effort, Baker said, and is happy that other towns are opposed. “It may not stop (commissioners), but at least it’ll help them work with us.”

IN OTHER NEWS

Hemby Bridge lowered its community center rates Thursday to make it more affordable to residents.

Prior to the change, a three-hour reservation at the community center cost town residents $100 and non-residents $200, plus charges to use the sound system.

Rates dropped to $60 for residents and $120 for non-residents to rent out the space for half a day. A $100 refundable deposit is charged to both residents and non-residents, but no additional fees are added.