SUMMARY MINUTES
CHAIRMAN’S MEETING
Indian River County Hospital District Conference Room/ Zoom
March 20, 2024
TRUSTEES: Marybeth Cunningham Barb Bodnar Michael Kint Paul Westcott
William Cooney Karen Deigl
ABSENT: Kerry Bartlett
STAFF: Dawn Carboni Jennifer Frederick
Kate Voss Frank Isele
Jennifer Peshke, Esq. (zoom) Robert Siedlecki
ZOOM: Ceclia Stalnaker Nate Bruckner
Lisa Zahner Pat Knipper
Chriss Papayannis Deborah Shellenberger
ATTENDEES: Vicki Soule Ann Marie McCrystal
Bill Stengel Wayne Creelman
Lauretta Farrell
Convene Meeting
Ms. Cunningham convened the meeting of the IRCHD Board of Trustees at 10:00 AM by welcoming those participating via Zoom and in person.
Presentation on Executive Roundtable- Carrie Lester, Executive Director of Substance Awareness Center
Ms. Lester addressed the board and provided the Trustees with an introduction to Communities That Care (“CTC”) which is an evidence-based process that focuses on developing community collaboration to improve the lives of youth and families. The goal of the process is to address risk factors to prevent six problem behaviors in youth. The problem behaviors CTC addresses are substance use, delinquency, school dropout, violence, teen pregnancy, depression and anxiety. Additionally, risk factors are addressed in four areas which are community, family, school, and individual. She further explained that CTC focuses on educating of prevention science. Prevention science focuses on using evidence-based programs and practices to prevent the predictors of problem behaviors before they start.
Discussion on FY 24-25 Funding Request Process- Frank Isele, Executive Director & Jennifer Frederick, Program Liaison
Ms. Frederick addressed the board and stated that she has had the opportunity to speak to each Trustee individually regarding the FY 24-25 funding request process and received their questions and feedback about the same. She explained that the request for funding application window opened in eC lmpact on February 19th and will close on April 1st, with all applications required to be completed and submitted by 5:00PM. She has been checking the portal for application progress and so far, 8 new agency applications have been started on the portal. Additionally, Nate Bruckner from the United Way will hold a training session for District staff and Trustees on April 3 and April 10, to help familiarize them with the process of reviewing the applications. Individual training sessions are also available if any Trustee is unable to attend the other dates. Additionally, Ms. Frederick provided the Trustees with tentative funding request presentation schedule and explained that these meetings can be adjusted based on need. Next there was discussion surrounding the process of vetting new agencies who submitted applications for funding. It was explained that District staff would review the applications to see if they meet the funding guidelines in place and a preaudit questionnaire and site visit would be conducted. There was also a recommendation that agencies looking to request funding from the District submit a letter of intent to the board, for their review, prior to them going through the application process.
Update on Agency Audits and District Performance Review- Dawn Carboni, Internal Auditor & Data Analyst
Ms. Carboni provided the Trustees with an update concerning the District funded agency audit process and performance review report from BJM. She began by discussing the status of the District performance review and stated that District staff received a draft report at the end of January. She spent significant time reviewing the report and other performance review reports for special districts in the state of Florida. Based on her research she had several follow-up questions for BJM and she had a productive call with Mr. Saxena from BJM to discuss the same. Based on their discussion, Mr. Saxena agreed to expand the scope on some of the areas of the report and gather further input from local organizations, specifically the IRC Health Department. Moving forward, the District is expected to received the amended draft report by the end of March. District staff will review and provide the draft report to the Trustees for them to be prepared to ask follow-up questions to representatives from BJM, who will be present at the April Chairman’s meeting. Next, she provided an update regarding her agency audit process and stated that she has prepared a draft audit report on the Partners program for the Trustees to review and provide comments. She stated that moving forward, all her reports will initially be provided in draft form to the CEO of the agency, in order for them to provide questions and feedback. She then discussed her findings from the audit on Partners and stated that she was comfortable with the financial processes in place. She also confirmed that the District funds being allocated to Partners are being used appropriately. There was Trustee discussion, and they were pleased to hear Ms. Carboni’s updates. Additionally, there was discussion surrounding the future funding support of the CCIRH IOP program, since the 3-year funding they received from other community organizations was coming to an end.
Update on Women’s Sober Living Property- Karen Deigl, Trustee
As the board representative for this matter, Ms. Deigl provided the Trustee with an update regarding the potential purchase of the Children’s Home Society (CHS) property. She explained that she, Mr. Isele, Ms. Peshke, and Mr. Rob Siedlecki met on March 7th and discussed various items related to this matter, which included the land use restrictions on the properties; the zoning changes needed to operate a women’s sober living facility on the properties; the need to remove any CHS donor restrictions regarding the properties; the need to issue a request for proposal regarding who would operate the facility if purchased; and the need to look for other properties should the purchase of the CHS properties end up not being feasible. After discussion it was agreed that Mr. Siedlecki would correspond with Ted Ciaccia, the real estate agent for the properties. They informed him know the District is still conducting its due diligence and would like him to provide responses to the questions raised they raised at the March 7th meeting. Ms. Peshke also provided the board with additional information about a realtor who could help find other suitable properties in Indian River County. Ms. Deigl further stated that she would be working with the county to see if the required zoning changes can be obtained expeditiously. The group plans to meet again in the next few weeks. Additionally, Mr. Ciaccia informed the group that the State has unofficially stated it is amenable to amend the Land Use Restriction Agreement governing the property to include mental health, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, and sober living as permitted uses. Mr. Ciaccia further stated that they are working on getting confirmation of this change in writing and will update the group once it is received. Lastly, Ms. Deigl stated that she will continue to provide updates to the Trustees in the coming months.
Approval of Amended IRCHD Bylaws- Robert Siedlecki
Mr. Siedlecki addressed the board and stated that over the last several months, he and Ms. Peshke have reviewed the District Bylaws and updated some general housekeeping items relative to grammar and correct referencing of the Board of Trustees throughout the document. There were also a few other items relative to public comment and removed the items that would be perceived as a chilling effect when making a public comment. Additionally, Trustee Bartlett submitted comments relative to language addressing District standing committees and ad hoc committees. She felt the current language was not clear in deciphering the two. There was Trustee discussion and they recognized that the committees were different and did not feel there was need to list out the committee names, as it may be limited to future committees yet to be formed. There was no further discussion and Mr. Kint made a motion to approve with the discussed changes, which was seconded by Ms. Deigl. The motion carried unanimously.
Revisit topic of 82nd Ave Property- Paul Westcott, Trustee
Mr. Westcott stated that he would like to continue further Trustee discussion on this topic which he brought forward to the Trustees back in December 2023. At that time a motion made agreeing to further exploration into the boards options for use or sale of the parcel on 82nd Ave. Ms. Cunnigham informed the board that she recently met with Dr. Peter and the new COO Gabe Brooks and had discussions surrounding future use of the 82nd Ave parcel. Ms. Cunningham instructed them to bring forth a proposal to the District with their intentions. There was also discussion about donating some of the parcel to the land trust for affordable housing. The representatives from CCIRH indicated that they would be able to bring forth a proposal sometime in the month of June or July. Chriss Papayannis from CC, who was participating in the meeting via Zoom, addressed the group and stated that they are taking this matter seriously and are working toward the goal of bringing a proposal to the board by the June or July expected date. After further Trustee discussion, many felt that they should wait to see what the proposal from CCIRH would entail before spending additional time and effort on future exploration of future use of the property. Therefore, Ms. Cunningham made a motion to cease further exploration into future use or sale of the parcel at 82nd Ave, until the board receives a proposal from CCIRH for consideration. Ms. Bodnar seconded the motion, and it passed 5-1 which Mr. Westcott in opposition.
Other Business
Ms. Voss addressed the board and provided the Trustees with the Conflict of Interest and Acknowledgement Statements forms for their review and completion. These forms are completed annually and should be returned to her by next month.
Next, Mr. Kint provided the Trustees with an update relative to the Finance and Audit committee and their work on the District accounting and financial practices and procedures manual. He stated that after the committee provided their recommended changes, Mr. Jacoby and the District CPA also reviewed the document and provided their suggested changes. Mr. Isele updated that document and the final review of the document will be completed by Ms. Peshke. He hopes to have the final draft version to the board by next month’s Chairman’s meeting. Additionally, he discussed that the committee is looking for an additional member to join since the resignation of Mr. Jeff Smith. Their preference would be an active CPA and he asked the Trustees to submit any recommendations to Mr. Isele for consideration. Lastly, he stated that after many months of diligent work, the group agreed to forgo meeting in the month of April and will resume meeting again in the month of May.
Dr. Cooney stated that he would like to have further discussion concerning VCOM and the potential lease to purchase agreement with them, to house a medical school at the HSB property. He stated that the last update Ms. Peshke provided was that a lease agreement was being prepared and he has concerns regarding this future partnership. Specifically, the fact that there is no residency program to support VCOM and its medical students. He strongly believes that the District needs to obtain written confirmation that CCIRH will support these medical students with a residency program. Otherwise without a residency program, the potential benefits of having a medical school with VCOM may not have the desired effect, to support the growth of physician retention in the community. Dr. Creelman addressed the group and echoed Dr. Cooney comments and concerns. Mr. Westcott stated that he would like the District to hire a consultant to assess the future use and needs of the community, with regard to the parcel and building. He is concerned that a lease to purchase may potentially give up a District community asset that could be better used in the future to support healthcare needs in the community. Additionally, some of the Trustees would still like to review the CCIRH long-term goals and a site plan for the organization, to see if that property fits into their long-term vision. Mr. Isele stated that he will begin to research and look into the potential hiring of a consultant to support this process. Mr. Westcott made a motion for the District to assess the potential long term needs of the community with regard to the use of HSB building and parcel. The motion was seconded by Ms. Deigl and it carried unanimously.
Public Comment & Adjourn
There was no further business and Ms. Cunningham asked for public comment. There was no further public comment, and the meeting was adjourned at 12.00 p.m.
