WEBVTT 00:00:04.738 --> 00:00:07.550 - Hello and welcome to Cat's Creek. I'm Annalise Poorman. 00:00:08.194 --> 00:00:14.224 - The Monroe County Board of Commissioners met on October 22nd. The meeting began with an update from 00:00:14.224 --> 00:00:20.797 - the health department. Health officer Sarah Ryderband thanked the commissioners for ARPA funding, encouraged 00:00:20.797 --> 00:00:27.249 - residents to get vaccinated as flu and COVID activity rises, and to announce that the disease intervention 00:00:27.249 --> 00:00:33.520 - specialists will now be having evening hours. She went on to note concerns for the new state food truck 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:36.414 - regulations expected to take effect in January. 00:00:36.802 --> 00:00:45.153 - public health departments across the state have been trying to iron out what that's going to mean, and 00:00:45.153 --> 00:00:53.262 - particularly what it's going to mean to our public because there aren't very clear guidelines. It's 00:00:53.262 --> 00:01:01.694 - simply about making sure that all of the trucks are licensed, but they're licensed once no matter where 00:01:01.890 --> 00:01:09.457 - they are serving. We don't know what it's going to be like for our county or any other county to try 00:01:09.457 --> 00:01:17.025 - and keep track of all of it and what it's going to mean in terms of finances because regulating that 00:01:17.025 --> 00:01:24.667 - number of trucks coming into our community when we're not getting anything in return is going to make 00:01:24.667 --> 00:01:25.566 - things more 00:01:26.242 --> 00:01:31.607 - I see in the long run. During public comment, Christopher M.G., speaking for the Greater Bloomington 00:01:31.607 --> 00:01:37.078 - Chamber of Commerce, raised concerns about staffing and service gaps at the health department. We know 00:01:37.078 --> 00:01:42.549 - this department, what this department is capable of. We're not asking for a new standard. We're asking 00:01:42.549 --> 00:01:48.285 - for the county to restore a standard our community once expected. We have the talent, we have the resources 00:01:48.285 --> 00:01:53.278 - and the commitment to make the health department a model of effective local government again. 00:01:53.858 --> 00:02:00.151 - The Chamber wants results and we're ready to be part of that solution. The meeting continued on to new 00:02:00.151 --> 00:02:06.444 - business beginning with a presentation from Dr. Margaret Clements of the Monroe County Plan Commission 00:02:06.444 --> 00:02:12.615 - on Housing Construction and Development. The City of Bloomington had asserted that 12,225 units were 00:02:12.615 --> 00:02:14.142 - needed by the year 2040. 00:02:14.210 --> 00:02:22.187 - Well, between 2016 and 2026, 11,227 units had already been built. Now that's an undercount. There's 00:02:22.187 --> 00:02:30.323 - another 500 unit apartment building I didn't include in this study because I wasn't sure exactly what 00:02:30.323 --> 00:02:38.380 - date the occupancy permit was issued and subsequently I found that it would be included in the state 00:02:38.380 --> 00:02:43.166 - range. And there's also the town of Ellitsville information 00:02:43.682 --> 00:02:51.300 - we do not have. So I think we're in a position where we have exceeded what has been estimated we need 00:02:51.300 --> 00:02:58.992 - for a good long time. Clements continued on to recommend regular updates and better data sharing among 00:02:58.992 --> 00:03:06.983 - city and county departments. Commissioner Jody Madeira believed the report to be premature and incomplete. 00:03:06.983 --> 00:03:13.406 - From my perspective, it's premature to adopt this report. I think need is measured by 00:03:13.602 --> 00:03:21.800 - I think the report doesn't analyze these factors. I think it concedes it doesn't analyze affordability, 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:29.919 - waging, or housing type, which are the core questions in shortage studies. I think it does count units 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:38.590 - built and compares them with older projects. And I think so it counts some things as offered as a correction. 00:03:38.978 --> 00:03:44.848 - to studies that say that Monroe County needs more housing, but to succeed in that objective, it would 00:03:44.848 --> 00:03:50.200 - have to actually show that housing demand is satisfied. And I'm not sure that it shows that. 00:03:50.200 --> 00:03:56.071 - To show that, it would have to incorporate more data about the demand side. Commissioner Julie Thomas 00:03:56.071 --> 00:04:01.883 - expressed that the report brings useful data, but emphasized an inability to inventory vacancies and 00:04:01.883 --> 00:04:06.142 - hold developers accountable for price discrepancies. When developers come 00:04:06.274 --> 00:04:12.887 - to the Planning Commission, they often will say things like, well, we can build houses and they'll be 00:04:12.887 --> 00:04:19.371 - starting point 250,000. Well, that sounds good because that's a good price range for people who are 00:04:19.371 --> 00:04:25.919 - just entering the housing market. But when they're built, we find that they're often advertised at a 00:04:25.919 --> 00:04:32.403 - much higher price. And there's nothing we can do about that. Absolutely nothing. We can't hold them 00:04:32.403 --> 00:04:33.246 - to a certain 00:04:33.506 --> 00:04:42.067 - that's the price point. And the other thing is, is it costs a certain amount to build a house, anything, 00:04:42.067 --> 00:04:50.709 - a house, an apartment building, anything. It costs a certain amount of money in terms of land, utilities, 00:04:50.709 --> 00:04:59.025 - roadways, et cetera. And so I'm not sure that cheaper housing is possible, although I still hope that 00:04:59.025 --> 00:05:03.102 - we can have a tiny home community here somewhere. 00:05:03.362 --> 00:05:10.571 - but that we need to be more focused on the wage side to ensure that people can afford what can be produced 00:05:10.571 --> 00:05:17.510 - here based on the cost. The commissioners did not formally accept the report during the meeting as the 00:05:17.510 --> 00:05:24.516 - motion to accept it failed for a lack of a second. Several agreements affecting county parks and public 00:05:24.516 --> 00:05:31.254 - services were approved, including a $49,000 service agreement for an ADA compliant trail at the New 00:05:31.254 --> 00:05:33.342 - Monroe County Nature Preserve. 00:05:33.538 --> 00:05:41.856 - Parks and Recreation Director Kelly Whitmer gave more details. We will have one ADA trail that is crushed 00:05:41.856 --> 00:05:50.174 - and rolled with quarter minus. It won't be asphalt, it won't be concrete, but it still qualifies for ADA. 00:05:50.978 --> 00:05:58.185 - I'm not sure how many miles it'll be. It'll be kind of a straight shot and all the grass trails on the 00:05:58.185 --> 00:06:05.182 - southern end will connect back to it. So it'll be very difficult to get lost because every trail on 00:06:05.182 --> 00:06:12.389 - the south side leads back to the ADA trail. The dog park that we're building is 100% ADA. We will have 00:06:12.389 --> 00:06:19.806 - shelters, sidewalks, a nice trailhead, picnic tables. Everything will be accessible, parking. And if you, 00:06:20.194 --> 00:06:28.722 - can't manage the grass trails, which is some people cannot, there'll be plenty to see and plenty to 00:06:28.722 --> 00:06:37.592 - do out there. Yeah. And when is it thought that this will be open to the public? If the weather is good 00:06:37.592 --> 00:06:44.670 - to us and our staff level remains the same, we might be able to be open late 2027. 00:06:44.802 --> 00:06:51.642 - The board also approved agreements for website accessibility work, emergency notifications to county 00:06:51.642 --> 00:06:58.414 - employees, and software to help manage public records requests. Chief Technology Officer Greg Crone 00:06:58.414 --> 00:07:05.457 - explained the ADA needs for the project. With the compliance standards being set that are due by August 00:07:05.457 --> 00:07:12.364 - 20th or by 2027, we do have over 10,000 PDFs that still need to be remediated. We've attempted to use 00:07:12.364 --> 00:07:13.854 - Adobe tools to try to 00:07:13.954 --> 00:07:19.483 - remediate most of these. That's proved inadequate. It does part of the job. It doesn't do a complete 00:07:19.483 --> 00:07:25.341 - job as well as the fact it's too cumbersome for one or two people to try to sort through tens of thousands 00:07:25.341 --> 00:07:31.090 - of documents to get these up to standard. So I brought this request to again partner with site and prove 00:07:31.090 --> 00:07:36.619 - get it so that we can actually don't have to reach out to the state for those reports and we can get 00:07:36.619 --> 00:07:42.149 - these ADA compliance issues streamed out. The next Monroe County Commissioner's meeting is scheduled 00:07:42.149 --> 00:07:43.134 - for October 29th. 00:07:44.098 --> 00:07:51.069 - On October 21, the Monroe County Capital Improvement Board approved a $660,000 bid to demolish Seminary 00:07:51.069 --> 00:07:57.906 - Point Apartments. The board selected Denny Excavating to conduct the demolition work, which is set to 00:07:57.906 --> 00:08:04.542 - be completed by the end of the year. Contractors plan to begin tearing down buildings in November. 00:08:04.962 --> 00:08:11.496 - During public comment following the vote, members of advocacy group Bloomington Homes for All urged 00:08:11.496 --> 00:08:18.423 - officials to preserve the housing and reconsider a land swab. The CIB reviewed a preliminary plan showing 00:08:18.423 --> 00:08:23.454 - how parcels south of the Convention Center would support hotel construction. 00:08:23.586 --> 00:08:34.046 - This includes space for equipment, construction trailers, dumpsters, and employee parking. Homes for 00:08:34.046 --> 00:08:44.610 - All member Amber Core asked if those uses justify clearing the site. I just want to point out that it 00:08:44.610 --> 00:08:53.310 - seems like the plan for the hotel footprint and then what extends beyond it, south, 00:08:53.442 --> 00:09:06.335 - Um, seems like an excuse to demolish affordable housing when you don't really have any other idea with 00:09:06.335 --> 00:09:19.603 - what you want to do with it now. And you already have staging equipment set up for the convention center. 00:09:19.603 --> 00:09:23.358 - I'm sure you have dumped your 00:09:23.522 --> 00:09:35.795 - dumpster locations, employee parking, and construction offices for this project. I understand that that 00:09:35.795 --> 00:09:47.832 - might need to be extended in some way, but to demolish the entire site for this purpose seems absurd. 00:09:47.832 --> 00:09:52.670 - And this land was originally transferred 00:09:52.834 --> 00:10:05.826 - by the Monroe County Council for a land swap. And we need to consider still using it for that land swap 00:10:05.826 --> 00:10:17.694 - to save the affordable housing and get the hotel at the right location at Bunger and Robinson. 00:10:17.922 --> 00:10:24.550 - and other Homes for All member, Bryce Green, condemned the decision to remove housing that exists at 00:10:24.550 --> 00:10:31.177 - a price point residents can afford. Now, I think I can speak for most people when I say that this is 00:10:31.177 --> 00:10:37.739 - not a good way to spend city resources, especially when we're in a housing crisis and there doesn't 00:10:37.739 --> 00:10:44.958 - seem to be any way to get any more units of that cost point into Bloomington. So we're permanently destroying 00:10:44.958 --> 00:10:46.270 - affordable housing. 00:10:46.498 --> 00:10:52.379 - wanted on the record that this is what is going on, that this is a conscious choice to do so. And a 00:10:52.379 --> 00:10:58.259 - number of members of this body have gone on record saying that they don't believe it's their job to 00:10:58.259 --> 00:11:04.375 - assist in developing Bloomington's affordable housing stock. And that may be true on a technical level, 00:11:04.375 --> 00:11:10.315 - but on a human level, on the level that I think we should be acting on, and that should be the basis 00:11:10.315 --> 00:11:16.254 - of any government sanction action, on a human level, it's just wrong. And it's just bad city policy. 00:11:16.514 --> 00:11:23.230 - And it's very disappointing to see. And we'll be continuing to raise our voices and make the details 00:11:23.230 --> 00:11:30.146 - of this issue known to as many people as possible. C.I.B. President John Weichart said that the parcels 00:11:30.146 --> 00:11:36.928 - would support construction until the hotel's anticipated opening in 2029. So once construction of the 00:11:36.928 --> 00:11:41.982 - hotel begins, which is anticipated to be 18 to 22 months, this would be how 00:11:42.082 --> 00:11:49.716 - all the parcels would be used during that construction phase. The CIB will meet again November 18th at 3 p.m. 00:11:49.716 --> 00:11:56.795 - The Monroe County Council adopted its 2027 budget on Tuesday, including a 2% cost of living raise for 00:11:56.795 --> 00:12:04.082 - county employees and funding to help people experiencing homelessness. The council voted 5 to 0 to adopt 00:12:04.082 --> 00:12:05.470 - next year's budget. 00:12:06.114 --> 00:12:12.790 - Councilor Pete Iverson said the $147 million budget represents a 16 percent increase over this year's 00:12:12.790 --> 00:12:19.662 - adopted budget. Councilmember David Henry said that the county entered the budget process unsure whether 00:12:19.662 --> 00:12:26.468 - they could afford an employee raise. He credited collaborating with the county commissioners for making 00:12:26.468 --> 00:12:33.406 - the 2 percent pay increase possible. However, he says affordability remains a problem for county workers. 00:12:33.826 --> 00:12:40.020 - Does it mean that it's so hard to live here and afford to live here on a county salary? It sure does. 00:12:40.020 --> 00:12:46.092 - To get next level on that without overburdening our tax base, it's gonna take some work to find the 00:12:46.092 --> 00:12:52.043 - additional nickels in the budget, which seem to be there for other things, right? And so I think, 00:12:52.043 --> 00:12:58.419 - you know, I'm proud of what we did this year to get here, but there's always opportunity to keep looking 00:12:58.419 --> 00:12:59.998 - ahead and with hopefully, 00:13:00.578 --> 00:13:06.621 - not too much more disturbance in the manner by which we collect income and property tax in the state 00:13:06.621 --> 00:13:12.665 - of Indiana. I'm hopeful that we can continue to support our good employees through the benefits, the 00:13:12.665 --> 00:13:19.007 - salary that we offer, and then also find the resources to improve their quality of life in their offices, 00:13:19.007 --> 00:13:25.051 - where they work in our buildings, and taking care of the spaces that we provide them to work in, and 00:13:25.051 --> 00:13:28.222 - opportunities to telework from home when they can't. 00:13:28.386 --> 00:13:35.436 - part of the package, but I'm proud of what we've done here this year. Counselors cited rising health 00:13:35.436 --> 00:13:42.835 - care costs as the reasoning for the raise. Iverson said these expenses put pressure on household budgets, 00:13:42.835 --> 00:13:49.815 - even with the pay raise. This council is very aware that on the same night that we passed a 2% COLA 00:13:49.815 --> 00:13:56.865 - increase, there was a significant increase in your health care costs here in the county. We at least 00:13:56.865 --> 00:13:57.982 - I feel that and 00:13:58.306 --> 00:14:05.420 - the costs sometimes feel like they just keep on coming. Council member Liz Vidal says she wants the 00:14:05.420 --> 00:14:12.606 - council to revisit employee pay once the county has a clear view of its finances. I would definitely 00:14:12.606 --> 00:14:20.005 - like to see the salaries higher. I would be interested in seeing if there's a way to look at this after 00:14:20.005 --> 00:14:27.902 - maybe the first year after we know what the final numbers are and everything and potentially reconsidering it. 00:14:28.290 --> 00:14:37.049 - That's where I'm at. The budget also includes funding for residents experiencing homelessness. Iverson 00:14:37.049 --> 00:14:46.234 - explained. This budget appropriates $1,162,000 to direct relief of our neighbors experiencing homelessness. 00:14:46.234 --> 00:14:54.739 - We know that this is a crisis that is hitting not just Monroe County, but other places as well. And 00:14:54.739 --> 00:14:57.630 - that the crisis is getting worse. 00:14:58.242 --> 00:15:04.781 - Councilors also discussed pay for elected officials. Commissioner Julie Thomas asked the council to 00:15:04.781 --> 00:15:11.452 - bring commissioners salaries to the full level on the elected official pay scale. She said additional 00:15:11.452 --> 00:15:17.991 - money from the stormwater fund could cover the pay increase without drawing on the county's general 00:15:17.991 --> 00:15:24.531 - fund. We are seeking pay equity. All full time elected officials should receive 100% of the elected 00:15:24.531 --> 00:15:26.558 - official salary. We understand 00:15:26.658 --> 00:15:33.746 - Why the pay was set at 90% for the surveyor so that they can earn one and a half times their pay if 00:15:33.746 --> 00:15:40.834 - they can become a licensed or registered surveyor. The board of commissioners pay and the coroner's 00:15:40.834 --> 00:15:43.102 - pay remains an unusual outlier. 00:15:43.298 --> 00:15:49.456 - on the elected official salary grid. While the council approved the elected official salary ordinance, 00:15:49.456 --> 00:15:55.554 - they did not include the requested change for commissioners pay increase. Henry said a broader review 00:15:55.554 --> 00:16:01.652 - should consider how responsibilities are split up between commissioners and the county administrator. 00:16:01.652 --> 00:16:07.690 - We have to holistically look at the executive pay structure of a county to say, what are those hours 00:16:07.690 --> 00:16:11.038 - doing? If you do elevate three positions to a full-time 00:16:11.266 --> 00:16:16.970 - pay or compensation in the county then then what is the purpose of having a fourth person paid a 40 00:16:16.970 --> 00:16:22.788 - hour a week benefit salary pension that is the county executive statutorily right they are the county 00:16:22.788 --> 00:16:28.777 - administrator statutorily even though we don't call that here the same name by local ordinance so that's 00:16:28.777 --> 00:16:29.918 - going to take work. 00:16:30.018 --> 00:16:36.639 - And if that is an honest effort that the next term of the newly seated board of commissioners, which 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:43.589 - is entertained, that would be my offering back is to say that's a January conversation and not an October 00:16:43.589 --> 00:16:50.210 - one. The council also moved to limit a separate borrowing proposal for county equipment and building 00:16:50.210 --> 00:16:54.078 - projects, decreasing it from $4.1 million to $3.1 million. 00:16:54.338 --> 00:17:00.947 - Councillor Kate Wilts said that some purchases could return for consideration next year when county 00:17:00.947 --> 00:17:07.821 - officials know how much money remains unspent. That way we are paying for it with money we know we have 00:17:07.821 --> 00:17:14.563 - and don't have to pay interest on. The council approved the lower borrowing limit five to zero. Final 00:17:14.563 --> 00:17:19.454 - consideration of the bond measure is scheduled for Tuesday, October 27th. 00:17:20.450 --> 00:17:27.532 - The Monroe County Public Library Board of Trustees met on October 21st. During the Monthly Director's 00:17:27.532 --> 00:17:32.254 - Report, MCPL Director Greer Carson reported that library use is up. 00:17:32.514 --> 00:17:38.448 - At the top of each month's director's report, we share how many unique users we've had the previous 00:17:38.448 --> 00:17:44.560 - month, as well as year-to-date unique users. By October, we typically see around 35% of our registered 00:17:44.560 --> 00:17:50.553 - patrons having checked out an item at least once during the year. As of October 1st this year, we've 00:17:50.553 --> 00:17:56.724 - seen 46% of all MCPL registered patrons having checked out at least one item so far this year. So thank 00:17:56.724 --> 00:18:02.480 - you to all of our patrons, nearly half of whom have borrowed something from the library in 2026. 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:09.131 - And for reference, we currently have just shy of 61,000 registered patrons, which by my count is about 00:18:09.131 --> 00:18:15.654 - 43% of reported Monroe County residents. It's a strong number. Carson also highlighted a minor water 00:18:15.654 --> 00:18:22.111 - leak and that the library is conducting a compensation review and expects to share its findings and 00:18:22.111 --> 00:18:25.534 - recommendations at the November or December meeting. 00:18:25.730 --> 00:18:32.843 - The board also heard that the county council approved the library's 2027 budget without changes. I'm 00:18:32.843 --> 00:18:40.379 - happy to say that there were no changes to the budget numbers that we went over at the July board meeting. 00:18:40.379 --> 00:18:47.421 - The growth quotient is six percent, so the tax levy revenue and the total spending budget will both 00:18:47.421 --> 00:18:49.182 - increase by six percent. 00:18:49.410 --> 00:18:56.369 - Next, the board received an update on employee benefits renewal. Dental and vision rates have been settled 00:18:56.369 --> 00:19:03.327 - while negotiations with Anthem continue. Alyssa Prince of JA Benefits was present to explain. With Anthem, 00:19:03.327 --> 00:19:09.831 - we are still in their initial offer phase on that. That one did come in at a 39% this year. We will 00:19:09.831 --> 00:19:16.595 - talk about some of the history of where we've been in the past and kind of what's driving that increase 00:19:16.595 --> 00:19:17.310 - this year. 00:19:17.474 --> 00:19:23.973 - We are still working on negotiating with Anthem currently, but we are seeing that the market is moving 00:19:23.973 --> 00:19:30.345 - a little bit less than it has in the past. And in some cases, they are not moving much at all. So we 00:19:30.345 --> 00:19:37.033 - are pushing as hard as we can. They also reported that MCPL's overall benefits package compares favorably 00:19:37.033 --> 00:19:43.343 - with similar employers, giving the board context as it weighs renewal options and prepares for open 00:19:43.343 --> 00:19:46.750 - enrollment expected around the beginning of December. 00:19:47.458 --> 00:19:54.040 - Next, adult services manager Elizabeth Gray reported on an exciting year of varied programming, including 00:19:54.040 --> 00:20:00.560 - book clubs, a poetry contest, cooking challenges, gardening and craft programs, and classes for emerging 00:20:00.560 --> 00:20:06.770 - adults. She went on to share how a staff member helped a patron facing eviction. One of the men had 00:20:06.770 --> 00:20:13.228 - lived in the same apartment complex for 15 years. The complex had recently been bought by a new company 00:20:13.228 --> 00:20:15.774 - who had a new way of paying rent online. 00:20:15.874 --> 00:20:21.437 - The patron did not understand how to do it, so he had not paid his rent for several months. He had been 00:20:21.437 --> 00:20:26.785 - to numerous places in Bloomington looking for help because he was facing eviction. He had been told 00:20:26.785 --> 00:20:32.187 - to come to the library to watch a video about eviction by somebody. And we were trying to figure out 00:20:32.187 --> 00:20:37.536 - the best way to help him. Cole began chatting with me, and eventually we both thought we should see 00:20:37.536 --> 00:20:42.885 - if Shakae Norris, the prevention and diversion case manager from heading home who was housed in the 00:20:42.885 --> 00:20:44.222 - library, could help him. 00:20:44.866 --> 00:20:50.899 - Fortunately, Chiquet was available. About two hours later, the entire situation was resolved. The meeting 00:20:50.899 --> 00:20:56.704 - ended with a presentation from Chiquet Norris, the diversion and prevention case manager with Heading 00:20:56.704 --> 00:21:01.086 - Home, who described how the partnership works to help residents stay housed. 00:21:01.410 --> 00:21:08.593 - In my department, what I do is keep people from losing their housing, which oftentimes consists of going 00:21:08.593 --> 00:21:15.571 - to eviction court with them, trying to negotiate with landlords. If it just is not affordable, we try 00:21:15.571 --> 00:21:20.702 - to help them find another place. And we also can help them with moving in. 00:21:20.898 --> 00:21:27.754 - cost deposit first month. Sometimes people get into rental arrears for various reasons. They don't have 00:21:27.754 --> 00:21:34.611 - anywhere else to go, so we try to not allow them to go to the street. Right now we are at a 97% success 00:21:34.611 --> 00:21:41.467 - rate, which is amazing. The next Monroe County Public Library Board of Trustees meeting will take place 00:21:41.467 --> 00:21:42.654 - on November 18th. 00:21:43.842 --> 00:21:50.767 - Monroe County Health Officer Dr. Sarah Ryderband resigned on October 22nd during the Board of Health's 00:21:50.767 --> 00:21:57.758 - regular meeting prior to a hearing on her potential removal. This comes six weeks after Ryderband fired 00:21:57.758 --> 00:22:04.616 - Health Administrator Lori Kelly. Board members unanimously approved hiring an interim health officer, 00:22:04.616 --> 00:22:11.607 - but that appointment still needs approval. Ryderband announced she was leaving immediately. It has been 00:22:11.607 --> 00:22:12.414 - interesting 00:22:12.514 --> 00:22:19.971 - partnering with you all. And I do love you, but I am done. I resign effective immediately. Rider band 00:22:19.971 --> 00:22:27.648 - defended her decision to fire Kelly and accused the board of failing to ask her for explanation. I don't 00:22:27.648 --> 00:22:35.105 - know what it is that I'm even accused of other than displeasing members of the Monroe County board of 00:22:35.105 --> 00:22:40.734 - health by taking lawful action without their blessing. If I regret anything, 00:22:41.058 --> 00:22:48.436 - is that back in August, when I told the chair I wished to have an executive session with the board, 00:22:48.436 --> 00:22:56.036 - I accepted her refusal. I did not simply go ahead and schedule the meeting. Had I posted that proposed 00:22:56.036 --> 00:23:03.487 - executive session, then board members would have been informed of the issues that I was experiencing 00:23:03.487 --> 00:23:10.718 - prior to my action on the afternoon of September 10th. I'm sad because not one of you reached out 00:23:10.882 --> 00:23:20.280 - to ask what was going on that I would act in a manner that you must have seen as precipitous. I've known 00:23:20.280 --> 00:23:29.857 - two of you for nearly four years. Did you really imagine that I would not reply? Or were you under orders? 00:23:29.857 --> 00:23:38.718 - Are you not independent thinking curious individuals? Or had you all entered a state of hive mind? 00:23:39.074 --> 00:23:48.444 - County Attorney David Schilling said no vote was needed to accept the resignation. Hannah Robinson then 00:23:48.444 --> 00:23:57.725 - discussed temporary replacement. Finding ourselves without a health officer. We have a lot of business 00:23:57.725 --> 00:24:06.014 - to conduct. Dr. Paul Broderick, who currently serves as the Northern County Health Officer, 00:24:06.370 --> 00:24:14.868 - has indicated that he would be willing to serve as interim health officer for a few months for us. This 00:24:14.868 --> 00:24:23.040 - is of course pending his approval or rather approval by our commissioners and also pending approval 00:24:23.040 --> 00:24:29.822 - of his board to allow him to do that because he currently serves in Morgan County. 00:24:30.018 --> 00:24:36.485 - Schilling said that the county needs to act promptly because the health department can no longer issue 00:24:36.485 --> 00:24:43.140 - documents under Rider Band's authority. Sarah is no longer the health officer, so anything that's stamped 00:24:43.140 --> 00:24:49.481 - issued by the health department with her name on it cannot be issued until we have some replacement, 00:24:49.481 --> 00:24:55.822 - which we need to do quickly. Schilling maintained that he would contact state health officials about 00:24:55.822 --> 00:24:59.966 - covering the vacancy while the interim appointment moves forward. 00:25:00.642 --> 00:25:07.562 - The board also plans to advertise a position for a permanent health officer. Hanner Robinson said that 00:25:07.562 --> 00:25:14.280 - they are currently reviewing applications for the vacant health administrator position. The hearing 00:25:14.280 --> 00:25:21.132 - to consider writer bands removal following the regular health board session was canceled. And that is 00:25:21.132 --> 00:25:26.910 - all for Cats Week. Thank you for joining us. For Cats and WFHB, I'm Annalise Poorman.