SUMMARY MINUTES
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
County Commissioner Chambers/ Zoom
February 20, 2025
TRUSTEES: Karen Deigl Michael Kint
Paul Westcott Allen Jones
William Cooney, M.D. Chuck Mackett, M.D.
Kerry Bartlett
STAFF: Kate Voss Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Frank Isele Kaytlin Dickens Dawn Carboni Jennifer Frederick
ATTENDEES: Vicki Soule Cecelia Stalnaker
Sheila Gallo George Colon Kelley Hensley
ZOOM: Megan McGall Anne Posey Marie Andress Ginny Blossom Nancee Long Deborah Shellenberger Rebecca Larson
Convene Meeting, Pledge &Consent Agenda
Dr. Cooney convened the regular monthly meeting of the Indian River County Hospital District at 4:00 PM. Pastor Michael Ochsner of Calvary Chapel Vero Beach provided the invocation and Dr. Cooney led the group in the pledge of allegiance. Next, Dr. Cooney asked for a motion to approve of the Chairman’s meeting minutes dated January 15, regular monthly meeting minutes dated January 16, and a February disbursement of $1,688,044.32. A motion was made by Ms. Deigl, seconded by Mr. Kint, which carried unanimously.
SRA Proclamation- Older Americans Act Nutrition Program
Dr. Cooney read aloud the proclamation recognizing March as a month of celebrating the Older Americans Act of Nutrition Program. Ms. Robyn Orzel, Chief Development Officer for the Senior Resource Association, spoke to their Meals on Wheels program and thanked the District for its support. She also invited the Trustees and staff to participate in a ride along next month to witness the program in action.
District Counsel Report- Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Ms. Peshke provided her report and stated she attended a recent special meeting about the District’s upcoming funding cycle and remains available to staff and Trustees for support. She further assisted in the updating of a few District policies to ensure they comply with current laws and improve internal processes. Drafts of these policies, including a conflict-of-interest policy, will be presented for the board’s review in the next months. Additionally, on February 6th, she sent a memo outlining her research that was requested at the December 19th board meeting concerning conflicts of interest for the ex officio board member position on the Indian River Cleveland Clinic Hospital Board. She believes the next steps should involve discussing this matter with the hospital’s counsel to ensure the board chair can handle potential conflicts effectively and she has a call scheduled with Barbara Del Casio, the hospital counsel, in early March. Further, the District office received a resignation letter on January 24 from John Moore, who serves as the District appointee on the CCIRH Commitment Integrity Committee. She explained that the Integrity Committee has four members, two appointed by CCRH and two by the District board. Next steps will need to be the Trustees approving the nomination process to proceed with the selection of a new member, as the vacancy cannot be filled by another Trustee. There was discussion surrounding this process and it was agreed that all Trustee recommendations would be submitted to Mr. Isele by March 7th for consideration and further discussion will continue at next month’s Chairman’s meeting. Ms. Bartlett stated that Trustees should include with their recommendation the candidate’s bio and interest in serving on the committee for the Trustees’ consideration. Ms. Deigl made the motion to move forward with the nomination process and included Ms. Bartletts comments was seconded by Dr. Mackett. The motion carried unanimously.
Mr. Westcott addressed the board and thanked Ms. Peshke for her memo concerning potential conflicts of interest for the ex officio board member position on the Indian River Cleveland Clinic Hospital Board. He stated that he agrees with the suggestion to discuss the member substitution agreement with the drafters to understand its purpose and it could provide some guidance. Secondly, he plans to discuss the possibility of seeking an attorney general’s opinion on this matter at an upcoming meeting. He believes this would give the District an unbiased third-party perspective since there hasn’t been any opinion on this matter yet. Ms. Peshke stated that in the past the District has sought out Attorney General opinions and can do so should the majority of the board direct her to do so.
Financial Statement Review – Michael Kint, Treasurer
Mr. Kint provided the financial review and stated that four months into the fiscal year, the District’s finances remain in strong financial condition. He reviewed the January financial report, including the cash and investment snapshot and the year-to-date versus actual expense spreadsheets and pointed out an amendment to the last page of the expense sheet. As of January 31st, the District received $18,808,126 in ad valorem taxes, which is 89% of the total budget and is an improvement compared to last year when only 85% has been received. He further reviewed the District investments and cash holdings statements, which totaled $19,818,132. Next, he reviewed the year-to-date expenses versus the budget, where expenditures tracked at around 33%. He also highlighted a few line items which had variables and discussed the reasonings behind their inflated numbers. There was also discussion surrounding the reclassification of some administrative expenses that would need to be adjusted relative to expenses associated with the women’s sober living property.
Executive Director Report- Frank Isele, Executive Director
Mr. Isele provided a written report to the board and discussed some highlights of the report. He stated that recently he has been looking at non-tax revenue goals for District and was informed about a potential federal grant called COSUP. This grant focuses on addressing substance use disorders, especially opioid and stimulant addiction. The District could apply for this grant on behalf of the community and in partnership with the Mental Health Collaborative and Thrive. However, he just learned that the grant is currently frozen, so it is not available to be sought out at this time. He still plans to move forward with the possibility of working with a grant writer to help the District identify potential federal and state funding that may be available. Further, the District held its final meeting with local organizations regarding Suncoast Mental Health closure and reported that all patients have been transitioned successfully, and most therapists remained employed within the county at other local organizations. Next, he discussed the District changes to the application and funding process, which Ms. Bartlett has been assisting District staff in facilitating. This transition is required and based on new guidelines from the Florida legislature in established and obtaining goals and objectives. Lastly, Mr. Isele stated that he just received Dr. Rothman’s response to the Trustee questions submitted to Cleveland Clinic Indian River. He plans to provide those documents to the Trustees tomorrow.
Mr. Isele asked for District staff updates and Ms. Voss provided her comments with regard to the Women’s Sober Living (WSL) property and the VCOM partnership. Currently repairs are being made to the WSL property, and they are looking at hiring consultants for the development of an RFP for the project. Additionally, the VCOM partnership continues to move forward but leadership is still waiting on approval from the state as to whether VCOM will included in Florida legislation which would allow them to operate their medical education campus. However, they continue to reimburse the District for monthly expenses and have recently paid the property taxes for the building.
Ms. Carboni provided updates and stated that she completed her audit reports for Tykes & Teens and New Horizons. Both reports included recommendations, and each organization submitted a corrective action plan which addressed those recommendations. Additionally, she noted that New Horizons recently hired a new accounting firm and completed their annual audit which had no findings and shows vast financial improvement with the organization.
Lastly, Ms. Frederick spoke to the recent meetings which were held to roll out the District new application and funding process for fiscal year 25-26. She stated that the meetings went well with the agencies and thanked Ms. Bartlett for participation and guidance through the process.
Unfinished Business
Mr. Westcott addressed the board and apologized for not speaking up during yesterday’s discussion regarding the office policies and procedures. He stated if he is asked about his personal views regarding District matters that he will share his opinion and always states that he is speaking as an individual not on behalf of the board. Additionally, when there are complaints or inquiries, he directs people to Mr. Isele or the relevant funded agency. He then discussed the policy on records request and stated that if he has a document that is easy to share, he will do so, but he will now clarify that official requests should be made through the records custodian. However, if someone asks him for a document, he will not deny them if he has it in his possession but will remind the person requesting the document to use official channels for a records request. There was Trustee discussion, and the majority felt that public records requests should be handled through the District’s records custodian Ms. Voss, and that the policy adopted at yesterday’s Chairman’s meeting should be adhered to.
Public Comment/Adjourn
George Colon of Vero Beach and a representative from NADAC addressed the board and stated that there are many sober homes in Vero Beach, but half of them are poor-quality places involved in serious issues like sex trafficking and drug use. Further, many people running these sober homes lack proper credentials. He has spoken to local law enforcement about these problems, but nothing has been done. He has also communicated with high-level government officials about the need for action in Vero Beach. He further believes that if someone has no understanding or credentials in this area, they should not be in this business.
Sheila Gallo of Vero Beach and a representative from AbleChild addressed the board and stated that she opposes the women’s sober living project and suggests it be repurposed to support housing for medical students. She believes sober living lacks scientific backing with helping women in sobriety. She would also like to know the names of the two consultants the District met with for the development of the RFP. She further stated that previous mental health presentations to the District omitted the impact of psychiatric drugs and suicide rates and believes there should be transparency about deaths linked to these drugs. Additionally, she encouraged the Trustees to become more familiar with the reporting system MedWatch.
There was no further public comment, and the meeting was adjourned at 5:30 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Karen Deigl, Secretary
