LONGVIEW — The Cowlitz County Board of Health has formed an advisory committee to solicit more citizen input, despite some disagreement on the need for the volunteer group and its creation process.
While the six-person board unanimously voted on Tuesday to establish the committee, they were split on if a chair should be appointed before the rest of the members joined.
On Wednesday, Commissioner Dennis Weber said the committee seems like an unnecessary layer between the board and the public.
“I don’t understand why we have to have a separate group because the non-electeds on the board are specifically from the public,” he said.
An expanded board
Last summer, the Cowlitz County commissioners appointed the three non-elected members to join the board, following a new state law.
During the Tuesday meeting, Commissioner Arne Mortensen said the advisory committee would help the board hear more perspectives from county residents.
“We’re not omniscient or omnipresent, so doesn’t seem unnatural to me to ask the citizens to partake in this effort,” he said.
Local governments can appoint citizen committees to advise on a wide range of policy issues, according to the Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington.
Methods for creating standing or temporary boards vary by jurisdiction, according to the center. The two other volunteer boards that work with the county Health and Human Services Department — the Veterans Advisory Committee and Homeless Housing Task Force — are required by state statute.
Board of Health Chair Kelly Lane first proposed establishing an advisory committee at the Jan. 24 meeting. He suggested the volunteer citizen group could work on public health messaging campaigns and help develop website content.
After a brief discussion, he established the strictly-advisory committee, which does not have any rule-making power. At the time, rules permitted him to unilaterally form the committee.
What the new group might do
In subsequent meetings, Lane has mentioned the committee could look into a variety of topics, including youth mental health/substance use, the Health and Human Services Department’s website, and a 2014 community health report.
Board member Lindy Campbell said the committee would be a way to get input on things that are not her expertise. At Tuesday’s meeting, Campbell added citizens could bring more ideas, passion, examples and history that might benefit a group decision.
But Weber suggested the committee may be a duplication of the board’s efforts.
Lane said he “can’t do it all” and wanted to establish a committee to look into matters, such as problems he identified on the department’s website. All board members would have input to direct the committee, he added.
It’s helpful to hear the public’s concerns and what would be helpful or useful to them, said Gena James, deputy director of Health and Human Services. If staff are working with an advisory committee, they would come back to leadership for direction, she said.
At the Tuesday meeting, Lane proposed a change to the bylaws to require a board vote to create advisory committees. The bylaws approved in January gave the chairperson the sole ability to appoint the committees.
Lane said the change makes the committee process more transparent and fair.
The board voted to change the bylaws and to reestablish the committee that Lane had created in January.
Controversy around the chair
Lane then nominated Dennis Ott as board chair, prompting comments from other board members and citizens.
A former Kelso attorney, in 2009 Ott surrendered his ability to practice law in Washington and admitted he lied to the courts, faked documents and billed for services he never provided, according to Washington State Bar Association documents. This was not raised during his Board of Health interview or following meetings.
After first establishing the committee in January, Lane named Ott the chairman. Ott was among 17 Board of Health applicants last year and was one of the top six candidates commissioners interviewed.
At the March 1 meeting, Lane said he knew who the other committee members were but didn’t list them because he didn’t know everyone’s last name.
Lane said lawyers advised him the board didn’t have to approve the members because it was an advisory committee and not a rule-making board.
At the March 6 meeting, Weber asked Ott if he anticipated “a diversity of opinions” on the committee.
“Yes, in fact there’s going to be men, women on this particular committee, that’s not going to be the issue,” Ott said. “Any reports that are going to come are going to have dissenting opinions also attached to them.”
On Tuesday, Weber objected to the chair nomination process and proposed opening applications to public first.
Lane said the committee selection is still open, he’s just proposing the chair. Ahead of voting, Lane asked for other nominations.
Board member Mary Jane Melink nominated Dian Cooper as chair and said Cooper had been in touch with Lane and Ott. Cooper retired in March 2021 after nearly 40 years as Cowlitz Family Health Center CEO.
No ‘vested’ interests
Mortensen spoke against having people with “vested interest” on the advisory board.
“I would like us to consider not taking people who are already in the business or have already spent a large amount of time trying to answer these questions because they have failed,” he said.
Lane and Campbell agreed they wanted some new perspectives and to get away from “the same old good ol’ boys network.”
Member of the public Michael O’Neill said he liked the idea of the committee but was concerned about how it’s being established.
“I think there are good reasons to include members that have historical knowledge or experience working in the local systems that are the way we provide health and safety to our community,” he said.
Melink said it would make sense to invite more citizens to throw their name into the hat for the leadership position before moving forward with Ott.
“By appointing somebody that’s been preselected, I think that’s not giving the community at large an opportunity to participate,” she said.
The board appointed Ott as committee chair in a 4-2 vote, with Melink and Weber opposed.
“It will be interesting to see if the committee is truly acting without a preconceived agenda or whether they’re coming in with their minds already made up,” Weber said Wednesday.
Lane told The Daily News the committee will help the board “bridge a long overdue connection to the people of Cowlitz County.”
Application information will be posted to the Health and Human Services website, including a link to the county’s standard advisory committee application, Lane said. There is no set size limit to the committee, but the idea is to start with a small group of people to be effective, he said.
The board agreed to bring back priorities for the committee to a future meeting. If it follows the regular quarterly schedule, the board’s next meeting will be at the end of July, but the chair may call an earlier meeting.
