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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHealth Board - Minutes - 8/12/2025 Healthy people, communities and environment for a superior Bayfield County. Bayfield County Health Department 117 East Sixth Street - P.O. Box 403 - Washburn, WI 54891 Phone: 715/373-6109 Fax: 715/373-6307 Anne-Marie Coy, REHS/RS, MPHc Director of Public Health/Health Officer BAYFIELD COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING Tuesday August 12, 2025 – 5:00 PM Present: Mary Dougherty, Kathleen Carlson, Madelaine Rekemeyer, Jan Lee, Terri Kramolis, Fred Strand, Diane Erickson, Jeff Olsen Absent: Dr. Kathryn Stolp Staff: Anne-Marie Coy, Michelle Crowell, Amy Jarecki 1. Call the Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 5:05 p.m. by Chairperson Rekemeyer. 2. Approval of June 10, 2025 Board of Health Meeting Minutes: A motion to approve the June 10, 2025 meeting minutes with correction, was made by Lee; motion seconded by Olsen. Motion carried. 3. Public comment: None. 4. Discussion Regarding 2026 Proposed Budget: Health Director Coy led an overview of the proposed 2026 Health Department budget. She mentioned that there will be grants that the department will be receiving, but are not noted in the budget. There are quite a few grants that will have decreased funds in next budget year. Coy used the WIC (Women, Infants & Children) Program as an example. The state has decreased the grant amount for 2026 budget year, but may have extra funds that will be doled out mid year. This extra amount is not guaranteed, which is why it is not noted in the proposed 2026 budget. Coy shared a graph showing the difference between the budget years, for example, when during the Covid-19 pandemic the health department was able to operate using mostly Covid grant funding. Coy then shared with the Board of Health the programs that all counties are mandated to provide; most of these programs do not have any funding sources available. Coy touched on each grant/program and how budget cuts are affecting how each program is run. The Beach Sampling program has picked up additional work due to Northland College closing. Ashland County, Bad River Tribe and Apostle Island National Lakeshore are all bringing in their water samples to our lab for processing, which is bringing in more revenue for our water lab program. Coy shared information on grants that have been applied for, but have not received, which means that there could possibly be more revenue for next year than what is proposed, which would decrease the amount of public health tax levy. Motion to accept the proposed 2026 Health Department Budget and forward onto the Executive Committee for approval was made by Lee; motion seconded by Kramolis. Motion carried. Healthy people, communities and environment for a superior Bayfield County. Bayfield County Health Department 117 East Sixth Street - P.O. Box 403 - Washburn, WI 54891 Phone: 715/373-6109 Fax: 715/373-6307 Anne-Marie Coy, REHS/RS, MPHc Director of Public Health/Health Officer 5. Update on Health Department Programs and Services: a. Opioid Settlement Fund: An overview of how the opioid settlement funds are being spent was shared by Coy. There has been a partnership with some of the local school districts to implement a prevention program. The community health vending machine is up and running; the machine is stocked with a variety of items available at no cost. The vending machine is located in Iron River. Board member Diane Erickson shared information on the vending machine that is located in Red Cliff. 6. Update on Health Department Staffing: Laura Lear, part time public health nurse, has been able to start working full time. This is due to receiving a grant for teen pregnancy prevention which will help fund her extra hours worked. Lear has been working with the Bayfield High School and looking to expand to other schools in the county. The Health Department is still without a part time clerk. This position has been budgeted for, but will depend on receiving additional grants. 7. Committee Input: Board members asked for an update on any measles cases. Coy shared that there had been one suspected case; test results came back negative. Oconto County did have nine (9) cases of measles, which were all related to an out of state exposure. Funding for purchasing vaccines was brought up; Health Department never receives funding for the purchase of vaccines. The expense has to come from county tax levy and when our department bills Medicare or Medicaid, that is where the revenue comes from to cover that cost. The increase in vaccine hesitancy around the County was discussed. Number of vaccinations given in the local schools has dropped in the last few years. The local clean sweep event was discussed and while it was a huge success bringing in 350 (three hundred fifty) cars, it did create a traffic back log on the main street in Washburn. 8. Next Meeting Date: Next scheduled Health Board meeting for Tuesday, October 14 , 2025, 5:00 pm, in-person in the EOC and/or remotely via Teams or phone-in option. 9. Adjourn: The meeting adjourned at 6:17 p.m. by Rekemeyer. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Jarecki Amy Jarecki, Office Manager