The Wood County Health District Advisory Council will meet again later this month after a quorum failed
to appear Thursday.
The group needs to name a new president and secretary, as well as make several appointments; however, a
quorum of at least 23 members was required to conduct business, and only 16 were present.
The District Advisory Council is made up of the president of the Wood County Board of Commissioners and
representatives of the county’s cities, villages and townships. The council primarily makes appointments
and recommendations to the board of health and reviews its annual and special reports.
Action that was scheduled for Thursday will be attempted again March 28 following a meeting of the Wood
County Township Association.
Council members met at the last township meeting in January, but the prosecutor’s office will need to
determine whether the meeting was valid, said Linda Holmes, an assistant prosecutor with Wood County’s
civil division.
At the January meeting, the advisory council formed a five-member executive committee permitted to make
appointments in absence of a quorum of the full group. That committee moved to reappoint board of health
members DJ Mears and Richard Strow, but minutes from the meeting are incomplete and don’t show a full
record of who was present.
"You’re going to have to have a special meeting and get the word out to the townships and villages
to come," Holmes said.
"You may not need to reappoint the board members or you may need to. This is the first we’ve heard
of that."
Thursday’s meeting would have involved selection of a council secretary and president. Brendyn George,
the group’s former president, resigned recently due to family health matters, and secretary Gary Cromley
of Plain Township led the meeting.
After Health Commissioner Pam Butler reviewed the health district’s financial reports, Liberty Township
Fiscal Officer Rod Lucas and Weston Mayor Jason Worthen pushed for answers on why expenditures have
outweighed revenues in recent years. Worthen said the net at the end of December was $536,000 "in
the red," and that the problem has persisted for three years.
"We can’t come here the fourth year and be dealing with that again," Lucas said.
"Everybody’s sitting here … and they want to know. If they don’t want to ask it, I will. How are
you going to turn this around?"
"There should have been a plan put in place the first year," Worthen said.
"We’re Wood County. We don’t like to be in the red," Lucas added.
Butler explained that grant funds came into district coffers late, skewing the balance between revenues
and expenses. The district received between $380,000 and $400,000 in January that closes much of the
gap, according to Sue Christiansen, senior grants and accounting manager.
Worthen asked for more context to be included with future reports. "You’ve got to make that visible
for us."
Other subjects that involved discussion included:
• Changes and additions that will take place as the Wood County Community Health and Wellness Center, a
division of the health district, adapts to becoming a Federally Qualified Health Center. The district
received a two-year grant of more than $1.4 million to increase clients and services at the health
center, and the grant has potential to develop into a long-term source of funding.
• District-administered programs to demolish blighted properties in the county, including the Moving Ohio
Forward program.
• Updates from the administrative, nursing and environmental divisions.