SUMMARY MINUTES
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT
REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
County Commissioner Chambers/ Zoom
May 15, 2025
TRUSTEES: Karen Deigl Michael Kint
Allen Jones Chuck Mackett, M.D.
Paul Westcott William Cooney, M.D. Kerry Bartlett
STAFF: Kate Voss Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Kaytlin Dickens Jennifer Frederick Frank Isele Dawn Carboni Shanen Fox
ATTENDEES: Wayne Creelman Cecelia Stalnaker Kelley Williams Vicki Soule
Colette Heid Wayne Creelman
ZOOM: Carrie Lester Kim Jeansonne Megan McFall Lisa Zahner Sarah Cleek Autumn Schneider Raquel Rivas Barb Bodnar
Convene Meeting, Pledge, Consent Agenda & Attorney Overview
Dr. Cooney convened the regular monthly meeting of the Indian River County Hospital District at 4:00 PM. Mr. Westcott provided the invocation, and Dr. Cooney led the group in the pledge of allegiance. Dr. Cooney asked for a motion to approve the consent agenda and a May disbursement of $2,106,860.73. Ms. Deigl made the motion to approve, which was seconded by Ms. Bartlett. The motion carried unanimously.
Dr. Cooney provided his Chairman’s remarks and thanked the District staff for their efforts in the fiscal year 25-26 funding cycle and budget process. He also thanked Ms. Carboni for her recently submitted funded agency review reports. He also recognized the discussions had at yesterday’s Chairman’s meeting related to key services of maternity care and mental health, and thanked Mr. Isele for the information he provided to the board.
District Counsel Report- Jennifer Peshke, Esq.
Ms. Peshke provided her report and stated that she continues to monitor the deadlines and deliverables due to the District under the lease agreement with CCIRH. This month, she worked with staff to review the Districts internal policies to ensure compliance, including finalizing an RFP and procurement policy for the board’s consideration. She also continues to work with CCIRH legal counsel to establish guidelines for the District’s Chairman and their responsibility as an ex-officio board member on CCIRH Board of Directors. Additionally, she is monitoring VCOM’s acquisition of the human services building and will review the current lease to recommend any possible amendment to the board next month. Lastly, the District has begun its budget funding cycle and will monitor to help provide guidance should any conflict of interest arise at upcoming meetings.
Financial Statement Review
Mr. Kint provided the financial review and stated that after seven months of the fiscal year, the situation remains strong. At the end of April, the District collected $20,522,693 in ad valorem taxes, which is 97% of the budgeted amount for the year, an improvement from 92% last year. The report also shows that the District’s U. S. Treasury holdings are at $8,056,721, with an average return rate of 4.28%. The money market account holds $7,550,448 at a 4.34% interest rate, and the local Seacoast operating account has $984,999. Additionally, total cash and investments amount to $16,592,168, with 94% invested for growth. Next, he reviewed the year-to-date expenses which were $10,093,276, or 53.4% of the program budget, and administrative expenses were $751,792, or 56.36% of the budget. Combined expenses total $10,845,068, which is 53.6% of the budget, and both program and administrative expenses are below budget. He further stated that at this time last year, expenses were tracking at 53.08%.
Executive Director Report
Mr. Isele provided his report and introduced Shanen Cox as the District’s newest employee. She will serve as a finance and program support specialist and has already made a positive impact in her short time with the District. Next, he provided an update on recent legislative advocacy matters. In April, Mr. Isele sent letters to Senator Grall and Representative Brackett which requested their support and collaboration with ongoing health care issues affecting Indian River County. The letters emphasized the importance of sustaining access to care and protecting local health care investments. Additionally, he stated that the Florida Association of Special Districts has not provided formal guidance on the new house select committee on property taxes. Mr. Islee is preparing letters to all 37 committee members about the role of the Indian River County Hospital District, and he plans to invite Representative Brackett to visit the District office for an informational meeting and discussion. Finally, he acknowledged the Districts’ efforts in revamping the funding process and development of a new scoring and evaluation tool for the fiscal year 25-26 funding cycle. The team reviewed 59 programs from 20 community partners and confirmed all required documents were received with the applications. He also thanked the community partners for their collaboration and adaptability. Mr. Isele stated that he looks forward to presenting the funding recommendations to the board for their consideration.
Funded Agency Semi Annual Reports
Dr. Cooney stated that there were three ‘written only’ reports included within the packet and asked if any Trustees had follow up questions, which they did not. He asked Mr. Jones to provide a brief update on Healthy Start and the educational session they are offering to the community in the coming months. Mr. Jones stated that Megan McFall, CEO of Healthy Start, will be hosting a community forum on October 10th where they will discuss the Fetal Infant Mortality Report (FIMR) data. He will provide additional information on the same when it becomes available.
Mr. Jones stated that it seems the Thursday board meetings have become shorter due to the absence of in-person reporting by the funded agencies. He is concerned that there may be a public perception that significant work is not being done by the District Trustees and staff due to shorter board meetings and would like the Trustees to consider inviting at least one agency to present at each meeting, so that they are able to share data and information with the public. Ms. Deigl recalled that the Trustees agreed to transition to written only reports, which are very thorough, Additionally, after reviewing the reports it gives the Trustees an opportunity to request an agency to return in the following months for an in-person report, should they have follow up questions. Mr. Westcott further stated that it was also discussed that in the absence of lengthy agency reporting, that the Trustee may have more strategic discussions during this meeting period as well. Mr. Deigl then suggested that in an effort to provide additional information and data to the public, Ms. Dickens could provide a quarterly update on the District dashboard, which the Trustees agreed was a good suggestion.
Public Comment/Adjourn
Dr. Cooney recognized Dr. Creelman for his participation at the District’s meeting and thanked him for his interest. There was no further discussion or public comment. The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Karen Deigl, Secretary
