MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF
THE BOARD OF MANAGERS OF
THE WALKER COUNTY HOSPITAL
November 30, 2016
STATE OF TEXAS
COUNTY OF WALKER X
The Board of Managers of the Walker County Hospital District, Walker County, Texas met in a regular session, open to the public, Wednesday, November 30, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at Huntsville Memorial Hospital, Huntsville, Texas.
Members of the Board present included:
Chairman, Robert Hardy
Vice Chairman, Ron Lange
Secretary, Jerry Larrison
Manager, Susan Mott
Manager, Judy Emmett
Also in attendance were: Anne Karr, Dr. Curtis E. Montgomery, Judge Danny Pierce, Barbara Larrison, Lydia Montgomery, Rachel Yarbeck, Donna Pinon, Dr. Tim Deahl, Shannon Brown, CEO, HMH, Guy Gros, CFO, HMH.
Agenda Item #1: Call meeting to order:
Chairman Hardy called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Agenda Item #2: Consider approving the minutes for the regular meeting held on October 26, 2016 and the special meeting held November 16, 2016.
Mr. Lange made a motion to approve the minutes for both meetings. Mr. Larrison made a second to the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
Agenda Item #3: Comments from the public. If you wish to address the Board of Managers, please register prior to the meeting being called to order.
None were made.
Agenda Item#4: Administer the Oath of Office to the newly elected Board Members Anne Karr, Jerry Larrison and Dr. Curtis E. Montgomery.
The oath of office for Anne Karr, Jerry Larrison and Dr. Curtis E. Montgomery were read aloud by each newly elected board member and the oath was administered by Susan Mott. Chairman Hardy noted that the bond required for each new board member was in effect today.
Agenda Item#5: Re-organize the board of managers.
Chairman Hardy thanked the outgoing board members Ron Lange and Susan Mott for their many years of service to the citizens of Walker County. Chairman Hardy reported that elections for Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary positions were needed. Mrs. Emmett nominated Mrs. Karr for Chairman. The motion was seconded by Dr. Montgomery. Mr. Larrison nominated Mr. Hardy for Chairman. There was not a second to the motion. Dr. Montgomery made a motion to cease nominations for Chairman. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Emmett. The motion passed by unanimous vote. The vote to elect Mrs. Karr for Chairman passed by unanimous vote. Mr. Hardy passed the meeting over to newly elected Chairman Karr. Chairman Karr asked for nominations for the position of Vice Chairman. Chairman Karr nominated Dr. Montgomery for Vice Chairman. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Emmett. The motion passed by unanimous vote. Chairman Karr asked for nominations for the position of Secretary. Mrs. Emmett nominated Mr. Larrison. Dr. Montgomery seconded the motion. The motion passed with a 4-1 vote with Mr. Larrison abstaining from the vote.
Agenda Item #6: Consider making changes to Bank Signature Cards by removing Ron Lange and Susan Mott and adding Anne Karr and Dr. Curtis E. Montgomery.
It was noted that Mrs. Emmett also needed to sign the new signature card to update the bank records for the accounts. Dr. Montgomery made a motion to make the changes to the signature cards to include Mrs. Emmett. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hardy. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
Agenda Item #7: Consider approving payment of indigent care bills.
Indigent care bills in the amount of $9,194.00 were reviewed and discussed. Mr. Hardy made a motion to pay the indigent care bills as presented. The motion was seconded by Dr. Montgomery. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
Agenda Item #8: Review and consider approving the monthly financial report.
The Statement of Revenues Expenditures for the month ending October 2016 were presented. Revenue for the month was $544,247.79 and expenditures were $660,204.49. Mr. Hardy noted that the tax revenue account would receive most of the income from the year in October-January since taxes were paid at that time. Mr. Hardy answered and clarified some of the questions and discussion from the managers concerning specific items on the financial report. Dr. Montgomery made a motion to approve the financial report as presented. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Emmett. The motion passed by unanimous vote. Mr. Hardy presented an annual review of the benefit package for the Administrative Assistant for the district. Mr. Hardy made a motion to approve the benefits package. Mr. Larrison made a second to the motion. Chairman Karr made a motion to table the review of the benefits package until the next regular meeting of the board. A vote was taken on Mr. Hardy’s motion. The motion failed by 2-3 with Mr. Hardy and Mr. Larrison voting for and Chairman Karr, Dr. Montgomery and Mrs. Emmett voting against. Chairman Karr withdrew her motion to table the review.
Agenda Item #9: Consider approving payment of monthly bills.
Monthly bills in the amount of $61,628.32 was presented. After some discussion and explanation of the itemized bills, Dr. Montgomery made a motion to pay the monthly bills as presented. Mr. Larrison made a second to the motion. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
Agenda Item #10: Approve recording of November 2016 budgeted indigent care expense in the amount of $576,664.00.
Mr. Hardy gave a brief review of the budgeted indigent care expenses. After discussions and explanations Mr. Larrison made a motion to approve recording the monthly indigent care expense. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hardy. The motion passed by unanimous vote.
Agenda Item #11: Consider giving approval to Walker County Appraisal District to accept the bids received on the properties in trust owned by the taxing jurisdictions.
None were made.
Agenda Item #12: Comments and reports from managers and HMH administration.
Mr. Hardy briefly explained the 1115 Waiver program and noted that Walker County is in Region 17. He passed along an email from Carmela Perez that said there will be a regional meeting on December 13, 2016, 1-11:30 a.m., in Bryan. He encouraged each board member to attend to learn more about the program. Dr. Montgomery asked if the board managers were covered under DNO insurance. Chairman Karr wanted to clarify that there is no personal liability for serving on the board. Mr. Hardy noted that the district board managers were exempt but would check further into the requirements. Chairman Karr suggested that the district hire an accountant or accounting firm to keep the district’s financials and provide the monthly reports. More discussion on that will be at a later date. Mr. Larrison gave a report on his meeting with Mr. Hardy and Mr. Benoit, the City Manager for the City of Huntsville about the possibility of the City obtaining the Ella Smither property. Mr. Larrison was very disappointed in the meeting as it was his impression that the City expected the WCHD to give the property to the City and the City will demolish the building(s) on the property. Mr. Larrison and Mr. Hardy feel that the property belongs to the citizens of Walker County and the property should go out for bids. Mr. Hardy reported that he talked with the contractor that is demolishing the old jail, Serv-Pro of Lake Conroe. He noted that the demolition of the Ella Smither building will have to wait until an asbestos study is done. The cost of the study will be approximately $1,800. The board agreed to hire the contractor to perform the study. Mr. Hardy reported that the sale of the hospital is continuing in the due diligence phase. HMH administration and staff are working on the data room information and is about 90% complete with the information requested from the potential buyer. The Renter’s Report was briefly discussed. All renters are current. Shannon Brown, CEO, HMH gave a brief slide show presentation about the healthcare trends in the U.S. The date of the next regular meeting of the board of managers was discussed. Chairman Karr asked if the meetings could be held earlier in the evening around 5:30 p.m. Mr. Larrison said that time would be difficult for him. Further discussion about dates and times will be discussed later. The next regular meeting of the board of managers will be Wednesday, December 21, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at the HMH 2nd floor meeting room A.
Agenda Item #13: Adjourn meeting.
There being no further business, Mr. Hardy made a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Dr. Montgomery. Chairman Karr adjourned the meeting at 8:20 PM.