–– by Susan McBain, Orcas Issues Reporter —
The past week was busier than ever for the commissioners of the Orcas Island Health Care District, with a regular meeting on June 19 and a public hearing to confirm adoption of the interim 2018 budget on June 21.
The hearing lasted only about half an hour. After public comments and presentation of information to those attending, the commissioners unanimously confirmed the resolution adopting the interim budget and preliminary 2019 levy. The resolution (now numbered 2018-10) and budget can be viewed from this link. The confirmation cleared the way for the County Council to approve a $400,000 loan to the District at the Council’s meeting next Tuesday morning.
The meeting included one interesting detail: public membership of two District Committees. The finance committee includes Bruce Rylander, Kevin Wahlstrom, and Joe Cohen in addition to commissioners Patty Miller and Richard Fralick. The communications committee consists of Tom Eversole, Steve Smith, and Susan McBain in addition to commissioners Art Lange and Diane Boteler.
At the three-hour Tuesday meeting, the long-term financing options became clearer. Miller has spent the last several weeks developing a model of the District’s estimated expenses and income through 2023. Based on the results of various scenarios tested in the model, she recommended that the District move forward with a loan from Washington Federal for a maximum of $800,000, to be amortized over eight years. The loan structure would allow the District to draw funds as needed over the first two years, rather than borrowing the full amount up front. It is also possible to build in “step-downs,” allowing the District to ultimately set a lower maximum if, after the two years, it determines the full $800,000 is not needed. Miller noted that at this point she feels a maximum loan amount of $700,000 would actually be sufficient, but Fralick preferred $1 million in case of unexpected large expenses. Miller will explore the possible loan structure further with these numbers in mind. She invited the other commissioners to identify any remaining questions about the model’s numbers or assumptions before the next meeting.
One big unknown is the cost of after-hours and urgent care. Although both clinics claim to offer such care, the Commission needs clear descriptions of what services they include. If the Commission wants additional services, those costs may raise the amount of money needed via long-term financing or the levy. Another unknown is the cost of maintenance of the clinic building, if the District decides to accept ownership of it from the Orcas Medical Foundation (OMF). A third is the level of reserves that the Commission decides to maintain.
The Commission approved most of its foundational policies and documents, including the Bylaws, Rules of Conduct for Commission Meetings, and Regular Meeting Time and Place, by resolution; and a Code of Ethics and Conflict of Interest Policy, by motion. A Public Records Policy still needs to be adopted.
The communications committee is working on methods to gather public feedback on significant issues. Lange noted again the need for a clear definition of existing after-hours and urgent care from each clinic, so that costs for additional desired services could be estimated. Once both clinics have provided these estimates, Lange would like to hold a Town Hall, so members of the public could weigh in on what services they desire at what cost. A survey to sample wider opinion would follow.
Two people have now applied for the superintendent position. The Lopez district commissioners stated that if the superintendent positions for Orcas and Lopez were structured as two separate half-time jobs, they would have no objection to their superintendent applying for the Orcas position.
The commissioners agreed to work with NW Techology of Ferndale, WA, to obtain use of and technical support for Microsoft Office 365. Boteler is still researching individual computers for the board to allow them to separate their personal business from district business.
The commissioners also agreed that contract negotiations with UWM and OFHC should begin in July, and that the Commission’s contract negotiators will be Lange and Miller. They hope to complete discussions by mid-October; interim funding agreements with both UW and OHFC will support the clinics until then. Commissioner Pegi Groundwater will lead discussion on possible transfer of the UWM building from OMF to the District.
Finally, perhaps the most important discussion topic of all was on the agenda: the points of consensus reached by the commissioners at the June 11 special meeting on the nature of services to be secured through District negotiations. Discussion was postponed until the June 26 meeting because of time. The summary of the June 11 meeting, and the services the commissioners agreed were most important, can be found on the District website under Minutes or at this link.
The June 26 meeting will be held at the Fire Hall beginning at 4 p.m.
Thank you Susan for this thorough, informative summary. And thank you to each of the Commissioners for the high-level and high-quality work they are doing on our behalf to build a sustainable PHD for our community. Orcas is incredibly fortunate that they are willing and able to do this heavy lifting — for free — for all of us. We’re witnessing democracy in action.