Clare Health Park still ‘paused,’ while investigation continues

By Pat Maurer
Correspondent

The fate of a $25 million grant establishing a “Complete Health Park” north of the City of Clare is still unsure.
The grant funds, awarded to the reportedly non-profit group, “Complete Health Park” developed by Director David Coker, Jr. of Clare, have been frozen by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services while an investigation into the group, and its leader, is conducted.
An April article reported that $3.5 million, a portion of the $10 million grant funds that were released before the investigation began, were used to purchase slightly less than 71 acres from Clare Northern Group on the north side of Clare last year, reportedly as a location for the new health complex.
An owner of Clare Northern Group, Steve Stark, reported that the property, located on the north side of the City, was purchased by David Coker, Jr., representing the non-profit he established entitled “Complete Health Park”.
Clare Northern Group is owned by Michigan State Representative Tom Kunse, his father Ron Kunse and Stark, his brother-in-law. The sale was made before Kunse was elected to fill the timed-out seat of Jason Wentworth, who was the former Speaker of the Michigan House. It was finalized just after he took office in January.
The property was originally purchased by Clare Northern Group in 2006, Kunse said. He said, “We sold property to a non-profit, at market valuation, with high hopes for the project. Every entity that has reviewed the facts has concurred that I have done nothing wrong.” He said he sought legal advice before completing the sale. Later he and 34th District from his own attorney and a House attorney.
Together, he and State Senator Roger Hauck initiated an investigation into the use of the grant funds after concerns were raised in the community.
A June 5th email said he had not received any new information on the investigation. He said, “Unfortunately it’s out of my hands now.”
An April email from Kunse, who was elected to fill Speaker of the Michigan House Jason Wentworth’s term-limited seat last November, and jointly from Senator Hauck said, “The development of a health park is a tremendous opportunity for our community. However, serious concerns about the development have been brought to our attention by community members which has given us pause. We have proactively shared those concerns with the appropriate officials and will continue to monitor this situation. Protecting taxpayer money is our top priority.”
Last summer, Wentworth of Farwell announced in a July 2nd press release, that $25 million was included in the coming year’s budget for a “new community complex in Clare,” a one-stop concept. The release said, “It brings healthcare services, recreation and community events together in one place. Connecting those services will create new opportunities for the community, make healthcare easier to access and give everyone new options on how to find the care they need.”
In an interview April 24th, Wentworth said, “I fought hard for state funding to create an integrated wellness facility in Clare County, and I hope the people running this project handle it correctly. All too often, we are left behind when the state puts real money behind improving access to overall wellness and healthcare. But this plan would create a place where residents can find recreational activities, youth sports, and physical, behavioral, and mental healthcare providers all in a one stop shop. It is even supposed to include low or no-cost entry for low-income families and host regional sporting tournaments to draw families from all over the state to Clare County.”
Wentworth continued, “I secured that appropriation when I was the Speaker of the House before it was turned over to the state health department to do a competitive grant process to ensure a fair and independent bid process. My role ended there, and I was not at all involved in procurement. This initiative could be a major benefit to everyone living in Clare and Northern Michigan.”
Wentworth told Bridge Michigan, a statewide magazine, that Coker, once an aide in his Lansing office, was fired some time before he began working on the concept of a health complex for Clare County and before it was included in the State budget. (According to information from the House, Coker left the state office in 2019.) According to a Bridge article, Wentworth said he had his office email DHHS telling them to make sure this was a competitive grant process with an open request for proposal.
A sign saying “Coming Soon” is located on the property, which is located on the north side of Rebak Street/Road, directly north of the new Peterbuilt facility on Colonville Road, but a groundbreaking date is not known.
Bridge Magazine, in an article by Jonathan Oosting, said that after Kunse heard concerns from Clare County residents about the way the grant money that was allocated for the project was being spent, he and Senator Hauk participated in meetings with the MDHHS officials about the situation, saying “We need to look into this.”
Questions about who is on the board of directors for the Complete Health Park, the size and scope of the projected project, its design, and more have gone unanswered by Coker, as have other questions about the investigation into the project. Further grant funds were frozen in April until the investigation is complete.
In an email on June 8th, Coker wrote, “I was just told that the MDHHS should be getting with us by next Friday [June 15] with the direction of the project.”
He has not responded to any further emails about the investigation or responded (on the record) to questions including: “Are you the Director, or the Executive Director of the Complete Health Park? Is the investigation complete? And what is the official result? Who is on the Board of Directors? Do you have your non-profit designation from the IRS? Please send correct information on what is planned (not necessarily finalized) for the new health park, what it will possibly encompass – and hopefully a list of amenities. Also, an estimate of the size of the facility (square feet) and an estimate of when construction will begin and when it will be completed.”
Some of those questions have been answered through other sources.
A post on “Bizapedia” says Complete Health Park, a Michigan Domestic Non-Profit Corporation was filed on June 2, 2022 (filing number 802867485). The registered agent listed is David W. Coker, Jr., who is reportedly the “director” of the new non-profit.
The “Articles of Incorporation,” obtained through LARA (the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs), say the non-profit was formed:
“To create and maintain online and physical health Parks that will bring outside professionals together to provide programs, facilities, and opportunities for individuals and communities to improve their levels of health. To create integrated wellness facilities that includes mental, physical, and behavioral health components. Those Components will be provided by independent professionals and companies as required by law and may include, but will not [be] limited to, the following services: Child care, Chiropractic care, Community Mental Health, Dental care, Optical care, Primary care, Rehabilitation services, Urgent care as well as other physical fitness components.”
The resident agent named in the LARA document for the park is David W. Coker, Jr.
The application to MDHHS from Complete Health Park lists a project start date last December and an end date of this fall with a project cost of $25,000,000.
It lists Anthony Demasi, (with a Mt. Pleasant address) as the Program Director; Dave Coker (with a Clare address) as Director; and Shannon Taylor (also of Clare) as Financial Officer. Demasi was taken off the project in February, after federal charges for fraud were filed against him.
Another Board Member – John Gross – resigned after concerns about the project were raised, an article in the Detroit News said.
A requirement of the state funding, the “feasibility study,” (62 pages long dated October 1, 2022) was prepared by Anthony Demasi and Paul Heuschele of Goldman Advisors, LLC/Goldman Advisors Group, LLC in Mt. Pleasant. That Company is also known as Hoya Capital Management, LLC of Mt. Pleasant, according to a LARA Corporations Online Filing System.
Demasi, who is under a recent federal indictment for credit card fraud and has a lengthy record of fraud schemes dating back more than a decade, filed a lawsuit in April against Coker and the Complete Health Park for unpaid work provided by Goldman Advisors Group for work on the project. A Court date in Isabella County has been set for August 8th at 11 AM in the Courtroom of Judge Duthie in Isabella County, Mt. Pleasant, and another court date for Demasi on the federal indictment is also set for August 8th.
According to a Bridge article, the “initial court filing by Goldman Advisors claimed Coker first contacted Demasi about the Complete Health Park project in May, 2021, a year before the grant appeared in the state budget, and that Coker allocated $1.8 million in funding ‘for himself’.” The Bridge article said that a letter from Coker’s Lawyer, Joshua Blanchard, called Demasi ‘a disbarred lawyer and convicted federal fraudster’ and said that he misrepresented himself as legal counsel.
Demasi is represented in the lawsuit by Charles Chamberlain Jr.
Information in that study by Goldman Advisors answered some of the questions posed to Coker earlier including:
Scope of Work
Complete Health Park has a phased project plan; Phase 1 will include land
acquisition, site preparation, and athletic fields. Phase 2 consists of building medical
office buildings and a playground structure. Phase 3 will finalize the whole project with
the construction of the main complex. Additionally, other building “phases” may be
added on to include raising private funding to enhance this facility, create an even more
technologically advanced Park, and add other desired facilities and services.
Cost and Benefit Overview
There are plans to offer this health and fitness facility to those who are below
200% poverty level at zero to very low cost, which will allow access to the entire
community spectrum to pursue a healthy lifestyle without financial limitations. There
are also plans to assist with transportation to and from the facility at low or no cost to
help remove additional barriers.
Complete Health Park has plans to partner with Mid-Michigan College to help
build life skills by offering classes that will get our community prepared to enter or re-
enter the workforce.
Plans for facility sustainability include land lease, day care fees, medical
office leases, facility use fees, a bowling center, utilization of courts and fields for
college teams, Mid Michigan College as well as tournaments. This is a centralized
location for the lower peninsula of Michigan and will also bring needed commerce to
the Clare County area.
Project Capitalization
The project is to be financed by the State of Michigan Public Acts of 2022, No.
166, Sec. 1996 in the amount of $25,000,000. With the feasibility study being complete,
the $250,000 allocation for the plan can be utilized for Health Park improvement.
Additional funding will be generated by private donations, additional supplemental
grants, and in-kind sponsorship. In addition, the expected lease payments made by the
Clare Hospital making Complete Health Park its new home, will be an added windfall
that will greatly diminish sustainability risk. (Editors note: MyMichigan Health said they were never consulted and that they have no plans to lease property from the Complete Health Park.)
IW Consultants (“IWC”), as project manager [established by David Coker, Jr. in 2020] has delineated development into phases to ensure all of the requirements and necessary elements detailed in Sec. 1996 fund apportionment are met. This careful planning, along with precise management of the currently vacant property, allows phased additions to be seamlessly added as improvement without the risk of non-completion. Retained Revenue generated from, additional funding, leases, use fees, and outlets will allow for long-term sustainability.
According to expenses disclosed by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and reported in a May 4th Bridge article by Jonathan Oosting and Mike Wilkinson, $823,000 in spending by the Complete Health Park covered “other expenses” for IW Consulting LLC, which is a for-profit firm that Coker founded in 2020.
Bridge also reported that “before freezing additional grant transfers in late March, the state said it had reimbursed the Complete Health Park nonprofit a total of $233,000 for salary and wages, marketing, space costs, supplies and materials and other miscellaneous costs.”
Coker was also the Agent for State Advising LLC, also included in the health care project, which he established in 2018 and has since turned over to a family member.
Bridge said “the bulk of the initial payout, $5.4 million, was earmarked for the FED Design/Builders of Gladwin as an upfront payment to initiate construction of the planned health and fitness park in Clare…”
The goal for the beginning of construction, according to a Bridge interview with FED president Brock Dennings, is the summer of 2024.
The Grant agreement between the MDHHS and Complete Health Park lists the Budget Period from December 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023 for the “Integrated Wellness Facility Development – 2023. It lists Complete Health Park as the Grantee.
The MDHHS Contract Manager is Darrell Harden, Section Manager. Shannon Taylor is listed as the Grantee’s Financial Contact for the agreement. It lists the Responsible Staff as “Project Coordinator” but does not give a name.
The (proposed) budget listed in that document lists salaries:
*Accountant: $120,000;
*Director: $85,000;
*Secretary: $41,000;
*Consultant: $150,000;
*Attorney: $150,000;
*Executive Director: $150,000; and
*Web Developer: $25,000.
Fringe Benefits total $158,620, and the total for Employee Travel and Training (including air fare, lodging, per diem meals, expenses and conference center fees) totals $29,625.00. Listed for payroll services (Harrison & Newman CPA) and for Audit Services (Weinlander Fitzhugh) are $10,000 each.
Cloud Services and Website costs were listed at $14,500; budgeted for land purchase – $3,750,000.; building insurance was $55,000 in the budget; Property Build-out has a budget of $16,520.000; Bowling Alley Equipment was listed at $1,500,000.
An External Consultant is budgeted at $1,450,000.00; auto insurance is listed at $4,000 and meetings at $30,255.00 for a total of other expenses at $1,450.00.
Vehicle and maintenance of a vehicle was listed at $85,000; and aquatic facilities was proposed at $272,000.00, making a total for Capital Expenditures for Equipment and other – $18,377,000.
Program Expenses/Total Direct Expenses are listed at $25,000,000.
Total (proposed) Expenditures added up to $25,000,000.