Board of Health member resigns

The Washington County Board of Health learned that one of the board members has resigned and the vacancy needs to be filled, during the board's monthly meeting Aug. 20.

Ceanne Alvine was on a speakerphone at the beginning of the meeting. She told the board that she will be out of the state indefinitely. While regretting her leaving, the board members wished her well.

Public Health administrator Danielle Pettit-Majewski said she has a candidate for the vacancy. However, the opening needs to be posted before approving her recommendation.

Pettit-Majewski asked the board to formalize a vote first taken via e-mail in July.

"Every year we have to update our vaccine-for-children orders. So this happened to fall between meetings, but we did have Dr. (Trevor) Martin sign that as our medical director," she said.

She said that she had "positive votes" from board members Virginia Bordwell, Dr. Martin, Dr. (Chris) Grier and Alvine, with one abstention from Jack Seward Jr.

"I think we need to affirm that decision ? that e-mail poll ? so that it appears in the minutes," Bordwell said.

Without naming names, Pettit-Majewski said that the board's previous counsel had reported that the e-mail vote was something the board could do. However, the current counsel suggested she discuss it with Margaret Johnson of the Iowa Public Information Board. Johnson also recommended against the e-mail poll.

"So now that we have accurate information, that is how we'll have to move forward," she said. "If we don't have a meeting or we need to have something done that is time-sensitive, we'll need to have either a phone conversation, which I know we have done in the past with some other things, but we will need to do that."

"In the future if we did an electronic meeting, how would that be open to the public?" Martin asked.

"We have the conference phone capability in our office," Pettit-Majewski said.

She went on to explain that the public could go to her office to sit in on the meeting.

Bordwell speculated that the Code of Iowa is not up to date with electronic communication.

Iowa Code Chapter 21.8 states that a governmental body may conduct a meeting by electronic means only in circumstances where such a meeting in person is impossible or impractical and only if the governmental body complies with certain stipulations, including providing public access to the conversation of the meeting to the extent reasonably possible, and provide information and educate the public regarding appropriate lice eradication methods.