1
Emergency Board of Health Meeting
August 18, 2017
11 a.m.
Green River City Offices
Green River, Utah
PRESENT: Dr. Paul Martinez, Kathi Kearney Reaves, Debbie Peet, Jaylyn Hawks, Elizabeth Tubbs, Mary Ann (Sam) Cunningham, Roxanne Jensen, Christian Bryner -County Attorney
*Commissioner Jake Mellor may join in by speaker phone.
ABSENT: Commissioner Keith Brady
Meeting was called to order at 11:10 a.m. by Board Chair, Roxanne Jensen. The Chair stated a quorum was present for the meeting. Commissioner Mellor was going to try to call in and join the meeting by speaker phone.
Those present stated their names for the recording of the minutes. Dr. Paul Martinez made the motion to go into closed session. Sam Cunningham stated the motion needed a second and a vote to go into closed session. All in favor; none opposed. Meeting went into closed session at that time.
The meeting went back into open session at 12:00 p.m. The Chair asked for a motion. Elizabeth Tubbs made the motion to send a letter to Danielle Pendergrass as quickly as possible telling her the original offer of a full-time position as Health Officer remains the same, with the original annual salary offer, asking Danielle to respond by August 28th with a “yes” or a “no” answer by that date. Councilwoman Jaylyn Hawks stated she would like a copy of Danielle’s letter sent by email to each board member. Attorney Christian Bryner added that the letter should state that no counter offer by Danielle would be accepted. Dr. Martinez added that if the board does not hear back from Danielle by the date of August 28th, that would be presumed as declining the position. The board agreed that should be included in the letter.
The motion was seconded by Kathi Kearney Reaves. All in favor; none opposed. The Chair stated the letter would be “motioned” (her words).
The Chair stated the second part of the meeting is to determine what to do if the Board receives a “no answer” from Danielle. Dr. Martinez made a motion that we go to the next 2 candidates that were interviewed. The second option is to go to the second highest rated candidate.
Debbie Peet asked what the cost would be to hire a head hunter and where the department would get the money to cover the cost. Kathi stated the money comes out of the general fund. Liz Tubbs stated she would inquire about the head hunter once she arrived home (in Moab). Dr. Martinez stated 75% of the payment for the head hunter should come from that individual getting the position and 25% from us. The first paycheck goes to the head hunter and the rest to the individual.
Commissioner Mellor stated rather than getting a head hunter, the department could pay someone local (a consultant) who may find applicants faster. Liz stated they have been in touch with UALBH and they were very helpful. Liz will contact Cameron Mitchell at UALBH. Dr. Martinez suggested having the same ad hoc committee as the last time (Liz, Commissioner Brady, and Commissioner Mellor).
The Board has not decided if they will offer the job to Brady or if they will be opening it up again to new candidates. Liz stated that people on the hiring committee need to respond to emails. Commissioner Mellor suggested making some decisions that day during the meeting about who will replace Danielle if she rejects the position. Dr. Martinez suggested that everyone on the board should decide that day, in order to move on. Dr. Martinez suggested they go to a head hunter if Danielle does not accept the position. The Chair suggested going to the second choice and offering it to Brady. Sam Cunningham made the motion to investigate an option to find an outside source that would be less expensive than a head hunter and continue to search for additional candidates and broaden the original search. Liz seconded the motion. Commissioner Mellor made a substitute motion and said to offer the position to Brady Bradford. The “substitute” motion: “If Danielle rejects the offer, give the job to the second most viable candidate, Brady Bradford, according to the scoring system.” Substitute motion seconded by Roxanne Jensen. Discussion followed. Jaylyn stated the entire process is flawed. Jaylyn knows of a dear friend who may be interested in the position. She doesn’t feel it was posted properly and she also objected to the scoring process.
Liz asked Attorney Bryner if the motion was made in the previous meeting regarding the scoring system and whether that can be changed now. Christian Bryner stated everything about what they have done is questionable. None of the people involved were HR people. They did not have a lawyer involved. They did not set down a procedure to follow. Kathi Reaves asked if anything was said in the minutes about scoring the candidates during the interviews and how they would be scored and more discussion followed.
Commissioner Mellor stated all the employees were expecting a decision from the Board after this meeting and stated other factors of the process. He stated the lengthy process has created morale issues within the health department. Commissioner Mellor stated he didn’t feel the Board will find anyone outside of the area that is more qualified than Brady who would be able to step in and run the different departments and be as familiar with the workings. Debbie Peet stated if the job was offered to Brady, whether the Board could judge Brady’s performance after a specific time and decide if Brady was doing a good job and proceed from there. More discussion followed. Employee morale issues were discussed, and how the employees are not pleased with the performance of the Board of Health with the entire hiring process.
The substitute motion was voted down. Those in favor who voted “yes”: Commissioner Mellor, Debbie Peet, and Roxanne Jensen. Those who voted “no” on the substitute motion: Dr. Martinez, Kathi Reaves, Councilwoman Hawks, Liz Tubbs, and Sam Cunningham.
The board members returned to the original motion. (The first motion made by Sam Cunningham:“To investigate an option to find an outside source that would be less expensive than a head hunter and continue to search for additional candidates and broaden the original search”.The motion was seconded by Kathi Reaves. The vote on the original motion: (those in favor): Roxanne Jensen, Dr. Martinez, Councilwoman Hawks, Debbie Peet, Kathi Reaves, Sam Cunningham, and Liz Tubbs. Commissioner Mellor was not present on the phone to vote.
Debbie Peet asked if they are setting a time for the new hiring process. Debbie thought the Board gave Brady a six-month time line and his interim term is at 5 months now. Dr. Martinez suggested choosing a new ad hoc committee. Dr. Martinez asked for a time period first. Liz stated August 28th is when Danielle has to give an answer. Liz will make some calls and get the list of where Becky advertised the position. She will call and check on finding a head hunter and obtain a quote for cost. Karen Dolan from Four Corners sent Liz the contact information for the head hunter they used. Sam Cunningham read the minutes from the March 28, 2017 Board of Health meeting regarding the length of term for Brady to serve as interim Health Officer. The minutes stated “six months to a year was anticipated to hire a new director”.
Discussion followed about whether to put together a new ad hoc committee. Dr. Martinez made the motion that Kathi, Liz, and Debbie form a subcommittee to evaluate viable candidates to interview or hire a head hunter. Motion seconded. All in favor; none opposed.
Discussion followed about whether to talk to Brady about decisions made at the meeting. The Board stated it was appropriate to talk to Brady about the decision and speak to him in person. The Chair asked what should be said, if Brady questions anything discussed. Attorney Bryner stated the audio recording of the open meeting is posted on the Public Meeting website and Brady is able to listen to that discussion.
Liz questioned Attorney Bryner on having Becky Colombo do the posting for those who applied during the initial hiring process. Dr. Martinez stated that they should not have used Becky in the process because there was a lot of fall-out from that process. Christian Bryner stated there was no reason Becky couldn’t have or shouldn’t have been involved. They suggested using County HR people in the next process or using a board member as the secretary. More discussion followed. It was suggested that a county HR person be used to coordinate the application process and having them report to the County Attorney.
Councilwoman Jaylyn Hawks made the motion to adjourn; seconded by Liz Tubbs.
______
Roxanne Jensen, Board of Health Chair