Portage County commissioners on Thursday signed a letter of intent to deal with a private company that has made a better offer than Robinson Memorial Hospital to take over the county-owned nursing home.Saber Healthcare Group of Bedford Heights has made a five-year lease proposal to commissioners for the Woodlands at Robinson, a nursing home that sits on the main campus of the hospital.Earlier this year, Robinson Memorial Hospital offered to take over the 99-bed facility, which opened in 2000.Hospital President Stephen Colecchi suggested a five-year lease with annual payments to Portage County that equal the current debt payments on the nursing home — about $570,000 per year. The hospital would retain all income generated from the property and be responsible for all expenses or financial loss.Saber upped the ante, adding a 10 percent bonus on top of the debt service payment.Also, Robinson Memorial Hospital needed the county to provide about $1 million worth of repairs and maintenance to the facility. Saber has offered to handle all repairs and maintenance.In a letter to commissioners, Colecchi said he spoke with Saber representatives about a possible role for the hospital if Saber wins the lease.Meanwhile, “although the hospital remains very interested in assuming management and control of the Woodlands, we certainly do not want to do anything to interfere with a legitimate proposal ... that would meet the needs of Portage County and the residents and employees of the Woodlands,” Colecchi said.Commissioner Tommie Jo Marsilio said it is up to Saber to finalize the lease language for consideration.“As a public employer, it is hard to compete with the private sector,” she said. “The nursing home would still operate and people would still have jobs and the people who live there still have a great residence and the county gets a little more money and this takes us out of the nursing home business.”Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.