PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
HEALTH BOARD MEETING … The Williams County Board of Health held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 16. The meeting was highlighted with the appointment of Sue Kannel representing Montpelier on the health board.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
The Williams County Board of Health met for its monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 16 at the East Annex Building.
Health Commissioner Oscar Hernandez III welcomed Sue Kannel as its newest board member.
Kannel, who will be representing the Village of Montpelier, was appointed by the district advisory council’s executive committee on June 10. She replaces Sharon Tarr whose term expires in 2027.
The board approved a variance request from James Harris who had already installed a self-installed septic system.
Hernandez reported that the health department received a continuance grant for the Tobacco Use & Cessation Grant for $57,550.
“I think we had a really good year in the first year of this program,” said staff member Katie Brown.
“It creates tobacco prevention and cessation within the community, the policy, and the other programs we’ve done. It’s showing a lot of promise in the first year.”
The board approved a contract renewal with ADAMhs Board Substance Use Education and Awareness for $25,000. Hernandez said there was no change from last year in the contract.
Another contract renewal was approved for PHEP (Public Health Emergency Preparedness) Epidemiology Service.
The renewal enables the health department to understand what disease the community is facing.
The board approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) renewal with the House of Prayer of Montpelier for van use for ECHO Coalition transportation.
The board then approved the monthly fiscal transactions, proposed and paid bills. Approval was given for the replacement of a vaccine cooler at $9,000 from Terra Universal.
Hernandez wanted to make sure that Terra Universal will accept the health department’s tax exemption status for being a county agency. He also requested an authorization of up to $10,000 just to cover the cost.
He also said they had discussed it last month to match exactly what the department had with the understanding the vaccines represent a significant dollar amount just because the nature of what they are.
The board approved a PHEP (Public Health Emergency Preparedness) contract for fiscal year 2027 with PHSCO (Public Health Service Council of Ohio) at a cost of $9,000.
Iryma Skopych was approved for a cleaning service contract with the health department. Hernandez mentioned that she will be used in a backup role should one of the two department cleaning service employees be unable to work that day.
Approval was also given for the disposal of F.G. and H unused security papers.
The board was updated on the legislative status of House Bills 561 and 692. House Bill 561 would make vaccine exemptions easier for families to obtain which is a concern due to infectious disease that could become present in the community more frequently.
House Bill 692 affects sewage code. Efforts are being made to submit sub-bills that would support environmental public health designs, inspections, and other concerns if the bill is passed as is.
An update on BambooHR, which is a new software program, was presented. The program has the capability to not only do employee time tracking and personal time-off, but also offers unique employee profiles for certification tracking, anniversaries, and birthdays.
It also does job postings on different websites such as Indeed and ZipRecruiter. The software would also eliminate many current paper processes and make them electronic for easier tracking and filing.
Alyssa Hauer reached out to Franklin County to understand how BambooHR is being used to manage their operations.
New accreditations standards through the public health accreditation board will be released on June 22. The staff is preparing to begin domain meetings and other planning processes to ensure they are ready to reapply for accreditation in 2030.
The health department staff recently attended sustainability training for the Adolescent Health Grant. It allowed the department to plan other avenues for continuing the program, including asynchronous learning.
The department is hopeful to be awarded more funding for the project. They are prepared to continue to offer it without funds.
An executive session was held for the discussion of personnel. No action was taken. Next board meeting is Tuesday, July 20 at 7 p.m.
