GOING OVER RESULTS … Williams County Health Department’s Jim Watkins detailing the results of the Williams County health study. (PHOTO BY ANNA WOZNIAK)
By: Anna Wozniak
The April 19, 2023 Williams County Mayors Association meeting began in Council Chambers at the Holiday City Visitors Center at 6:30 p.m. with dinner, the formal meeting being called to order at 6:41 p.m.
The minutes of the February 15, 2023 meeting and financial reports were approved before the association discussed the pros and cons of changing the by-laws so that they were only required to meet quarterly.
In the end, the association established that the rotation by-laws should be updated but that the meeting regularity should be left alone, as they can communicate with each other as to whether they need to hold a session that next month and decide through vote.
Holiday City Fiscal Officer Lauri Rupp then brought up an idea to hold an event that would inform people about the dangers of cyber security, and the association members said that they would try and investigate the interest level present in seeing that through.
The association then greeted Williams County Health Department’s Jim Watkins, who related to them the finds of the Williams County health study.
Along with the fact that 87% of suicides are males, 37% are seen with those aged 45-54 years.
Watkins also detailed how each member of the association has representation through the Health Department Board, and that the Board had decided to approve the purchase of some land from Bryan Medical Center to hopefully build a 7,000 square foot office space.
This office space would consolidate their offices from both the courthouse and Montpelier, meaning that the Bryan location would transfer, and the Montpelier location would be shut down.
Concerns were raised about the impact that moving the headquarters will have on the Montpelier community, but Watkins was steadfast in his belief that moving to Bryan will help them better stay centralized to the other organizations that they need to work through the public with.
Discussion was held on the parameters around what a registrar does, as well as state regulations that each county has only one, before Watkins assured the association that regardless of physical location, the health department would still travel out to each community to provide desperately needed services -and would take extra care to ensure they are doing so if they must fund the project by means of a tax levy.
The issue was also raised on acquiring funding for the project. Due to inflation, the cost to build a new facility is exceedingly high, and although they have access to some grant money currently, if funding is not utilized by 2025 then it will have to be returned.
This means that they have to come up with the funds to begin this project before then in order to ensure that they utilize all funds available.
If the project were to be levy funded, the implementation of the levy would appear on the voter ballot. If after the levy was approved the health department received adequate funding, they would not collect on the levy.
The association then made a motion to adjourn at 7:43 p.m.
Anna can be reached at anna@thevillagereporter.com