Commission plans to dissolve health advisory board

By Charlene Sims, info@linncountyjournal.com

MOUND CITY – An advisory board created to keep tabs on the Linn County Health Department during the height of the COVID pandemic is expected to be dissolved by a resolution of the Linn County Commission over the next few weeks.

On Monday, August 5, the commissioners made the decision to dissolve the health advisory board that had been in effect for two years and eight months after hearing a report from the Linn County Health Department Director Amanda Snyder.

Snyder reported that the attendance at the board meetings had been very light and usually there were not enough participants for a quorum for the meeting. She gave some history on the board, noting that when it first started the meetings were monthly and then, before the previous director Missy Lancaster left, they changed to quarterly. 

Snyder said that since she has been director only one of the six scheduled meetings had enough members to conduct business.

Snyder said when Lancaster was director there were 10 scheduled meetings with only the first four having enough attendees to conduct business.

She said because of the low participation rate and meeting only four times a year, it was difficult to discuss expenditures and budgets as well as have board members active with personnel matters. 

“It’s just hard; it’s been difficult,” Snyder said.

Snyder told the commissioners that she asked the board members what their feelings were. She said they were not opposed to keeping the board but they kind of just wanted to know what the reasoning or thought was behind creating the board. 

She explained that they were interested in wanting to know what the commission was wanting to get out of it. 

“Was it just to give the citizens a voice, to make sure they were doing what they wanted, or was it more COVID generated? They were just curious what your intent of creating the board was,” said Snyder.

Both McCullough and Commissioner Jim Johnson (the two commissioners in office at the time the committee was formed) answered that it was to get involvement from the community and just getting the feel of what the community wanted.

Snyder said it was not something she was opposed to keeping but she just wanted it to be beneficial. She reiterated that in two years and eight months, the committee had met for five hours.

“So, I’m happy to do whatever you would like. I just want it to be worth everybody’s time and be productive,” said Snyder.

“Well, it doesn’t appear to me it is very beneficial to us. I mean, we’re not getting enough participation,” said Johnson.

McCullough agreed that it did not seem worthwhile to keep the committee going for just a budget if they don’t stay up on everything else throughout the year. 

“I mean if it is not working, it’s not working,” said McCullough. “It’s a voluntary board and we tried.”

Since the forming of the committee was done by resolution, County Clerk David Lamb said it would take a motion to dissolve the board. Lamb said that they would have to look at what needed to be put into the motion but he did not think it would be a big deal.

Commissioner Jason Hightower verified with Snyder that it had also been difficult to fill the positions.

Snyder said, “It’s not just getting them to show up. It’s finding people to serve as well.”