By Chris English
SCHOHARIE COUNTY — Relations between the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors and the county Board of Health— recently described as "toxic"-- appear to be on a firmer footing after a joint meeting of the two groups on Tuesday night, Sept. 24.
After the meeting, county Supervisor and Public Health Oversight Committee Chairman Earlin Rosa of Seward, Board of Health President Dr. Roy Korn, and County Health Department Director Dr. Nicole Blanchard all said they believed the gathering achieved its objectives.
"We hashed out the issues, and the fact we can move forward and reset the table is important," Rosa said.
"It was constructive," Korn stated. "We cleared the air on some issues and agreed to go forward more collaboratively."
The Tuesday night meeting was arranged by Rosa and Korn after a tense relationship had developed between the BOS and BOH over a period of time, with the peak of tenseness probably being the approval by the BOS of a motion introduced by Rosa at the July 19 meeting that asserted the Board of Health had an "aggressive and toxic position relative to the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors..." It directed that Blanchard stop attending BOH meetings for not less than 90 days or until a meeting like the one on Tuesday night had occurred.
Blanchard said after the meeting she felt it was constructive and was hopeful it would go a long way toward settling differences among the two boards.
"A better communication plan was established," she said, and added she will resume attending BOH meetings.
Tuesday night's meeting of more than two hours started with the BOH conducting its regular business and then proceeded into BOS and BOH members going back and forth in an attempt to hash out their differences. It got edgy and pointed at times but never devolved into a shouting match or got too heated.
Rosa started by explaining from his standpoint how the two groups had gotten to this point. Also attending the meeting were fellow Supervisors and Health Oversight Committee members Donald Airey of Blenheim and Earl VanWormer of Esperance, and BOS Chairman William Federice of Conesville.
Rosa said he had heard the BOH did not trust him and that "I've been holding Nicole back from giving you information." He added being told by BOS, BOH and Health Oversight Committee member Philip Skowfoe that Blanchard had resorted to listening through the door when the BOH went into executive session so she "could find out what was going on."
Blanchard Tuesday night denied ever listening at the door during an executive session. Skowfoe did not attend Tuesday night's meeting, but reached by telelphone on Wednesday said he had said only that he believed "someone" was listening at the door during an executive session, not necessarily Blanchard.
Tuesday night, Rosa went on to say that the event which put things "over the edge" and led to his July 19 motion was remarks from BOH member Dr. Stephen Strasser in draft unapproved minutes from a BOH meeting that read: "The BOS won the first battle, and he (Strasser) fears they are winning this battle; this referenced release of the previous director." The approved version of those minutes expanded on Strasser's comments and deleted reference to release of the previous director.
"That's a political statement, and we're trying not to be political," Rosa told Strasser at the Tuesday night meeting.
Korn and other BOH members have said the minutes in question never should have been seen by another public body until they were approved by the BOH. Tuesday night, Srasser added that Rosa had taken his comments as indicated in the minutes out of context.
"It had come out that we went over Nicole's head to try and get a person hired against her will," Strasser said. "We didn't do that, but that's what we were accused of. I was taken aback by that. We told Nicole that we liked and supported her and she seemed relieved to hear that. She said that was good. I am very frustrated my words were taken out of context. Action was taken from my words taken out of context."
Strasser asked Rosa why he hadn't spoken to Strasser directly to clarify his comments. Korn also questioned why the July 19 motion was passed without Rosa or other supervisors talking to the BOH directly about whatever differences might exist between the two groups.
Rosa repeated several times that his main motivation for the July 19 motion and other actions was simply to protect county employees, meaning Blanchard.
"We need to try to put this divide to bed and move on," Rosa said fairly early in the meeting. "I think that's the only way we all work."
It has been asserted that the BOH might be trying to exert undue influence over personnel issues in the health department, something BOH members denied.
"Tampering, let's use that word," Airey said during the Tuesday night meeting. "Influence perhaps. That was brought to us. It doesn't matter where it came from."
Korn and other BOH members repeated several times they have no wish to exercise veto power over hire and fire decisions but need to know some things about personnel in order to do their jobs, like qualifications of people being hired in the health department. There seemed to be general agreement by the end of the meeting that was appropriate.
"I want to be able to work with both groups but at times I feel like I'm caught between a rock and a hard place," Blanchard said at the meeting. "You don't always agree and there are different perspectives. I respect all of you."
Board of Health member Dr. Rebecca Eckel said at several points in the meeting that a majority of BOH members were not aware of the approved July 19 motion or that there were troubles between the two boards until a long time after that meeting.
One of the resolves that appeared to come out of the Tuesday night meeting was that the two boards should strive to communicate better with each other.
"It doesn't really matter who said or did what in the past," VanWormer said. "Let's just take a breath and have more communication."
Near the end of the meeting, Airey questioned whether it might be too much or a possible conflict for Skowfoe to be serving on all three groups, the BOS and BOH and Public Health Oversight Committee.
"Is it asking too much of that person?" Airey said. "It might be an untenable expectation."
In the Wednesday telephone conversation, Skowfoe said his main motivation in wearing all three hats is always making decisions in the best interest of county residents, no matter if it might be perceived as coming down on the side of one board or another. He added he had intended to attend Tuesday night's meeting but got caught up in other work and forgot.
"I don't feel it's a conflict," Skowfoe said. "I was off the committee for a year and then they put me back on. This was never an issue until I supported the BOH." He voted against Rosa's motion at the July 19 meeting.
After Tuesday night's meeting was adjourned, Rosa and Korn could be seen chatting with each other and then shaking hands.
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