Required Lasata change to save county money

The City of Cedarburg Plan Commission gave its blessing earlier this month to a new addition to the Lasata Senior Living Campus, insisting on a change that will save Ozaukee County hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“That was fine by us,” County Administrator Jason Dzwinel told the County Board. “That will really help our budget.”

The county will break ground by summer on a new 21-bed community-based residential facility (CBRF) that officials say will close the so-called continuum-of-care loop that will help keep residents on the campus.

The county has set aside $4.5 million in federal grant funds to build the new facility. But the project was already half a million dollars over that budget mid-way through the design phase due mainly to locating it next to Lasata Crossings, a 60-unit assisted living operation, Dzwinel recently told supervisors.

That was done to more easily share kitchen and other services between the CBRF and the Crossings, but it requires relocating utilities and reconfiguring parking and road access.

To bring those projections back into line, designers had already begun to scale back some aspects of the project, such as the heating and air-conditioning systems.

One feature of the design included a “green roof,” which would feature plantings on the roof so that residents of the adjoining Lasata Crossings would have a better view than looking at a plain roof.

At the Plan Commission meeting, however, city officials said they would prefer a sloped roof that would match the roofs of the other Lasata buildings.

“That will help our budget,” Dzwinel said.

Besides the Crossings and the CBRF, the Lasata campus, located on the west side of Cedarburg, includes the Lasata Care Center, a 106-bed skilled nursing facility, and Lasata Heights, a 60-unit building for independent seniors.

Officials have said development of a CBRF is vital to maintaining a county nursing home without it being a drain on taxpayers.

Officials originally envisioned an 18,000-square-foot facility with 24-one-bedroom units to offer memory care and other services, generating $150,000 to $450,000 in additional revenue.

With the relocation next to The Crossings, that’s been changed to 21 units, two of which would be two-bedroom units, which are more marketable.

One unit was eliminated to create a connecting hallway between the CBRF and Crossings so the kitchen in the assisted living facility can serve the CBRF.

The Lasata Senior Campus is an enterprise fund meant to support itself without tax levy support and perhaps even turn a profit to pay for maintenance and make improvements.

In 2024, Lasata realized a profit of $1.6 million and contributed $100,000 to the county’s general fund.

Without the CBRF, however, Dzwinel has predicted property taxes would have to be used to keep the senior campus operating.

Most Wisconsin counties have gotten out of the nursing home business because Medicaid, a federally funded program administered by the state for low-income residents, does not fully reimburse counties for their costs.

To offset the cost, Lasata’s business model calls for drawing more Medicare and private-pay residents to the Heights, Crossings and the proposed CBRF.

About 60% of the Care Center’s residents are on Medicaid.

Officials estimate about half the beds in the CBRF would be filled with residents from other Lasata facilities, freeing space in those buildings, while the other half would probably come from outside Lasata.

A market study conducted in 2023 showed “significant demand” for such a facility in years to come with rooms priced between $6,000 and $6,500 a month.

Cedarburg planners were complimentary of the CBRF, saying details of the parking plan, which will add 13 stalls, “is thorough and thoughtful.” They also praised the landscaping plan, which calls for removing seven trees but adding 13, as well as shrubs and perennials.

Some details, such as lighting and dumpster locations, are still missing, planners noted.

County Supr. Jack Arnett, a member of the Plan Commission, supported the proposal, and explained that the CBRF would benefit Lasata residents who need a different level of care for short periods of time at another location.

Adding the CBRF would save them from moving and then moving back and keep them at Lasata for a longer period, which would benefit the campus’ bottom line.