Meeting minute change proves controversial

Not only was the Lincoln County Health Board’s recommended candidate for an at-large seat ultimately rejected, the panel this week effectively deemed its vote on the recommendation illegitimate.

During the normally uneventful approval of past meeting minutes on Feb. 8, County Commissioner Josh Letcher (D-3) asked to insert an edit into the record for Jan. 13. Prior to the roll call vote where the board selected candidate Jeffery Peterson to join the panel, Letcher requested the minutes reflect that the two finalists for the job were selected without a motion and action was taken upon those finalists without a motion.

“We went with this roll call vote, which under our own bylaws was not legitimate,” Letcher said.

The edit comes after Letcher was heaped with equal parts praise and criticism following the surprise selection of Eureka Town Councilor Scott Bernhard to the health board. Bernhard, Peterson and four others had applied for the open at-large seat, which commissioners intended to fill with a north Lincoln County resident.

Peterson came to the board with a background in academia and communications strategy. Bernhard boasted chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear experience from time spent in the U.S. Army and as a first responder. He also serves as a Eureka Town Councilor.

While neither spoke extensively regarding their views on the COVID-19 pandemic during the interview process, Bernhard has been upfront about his position on the coronavirus and subsequent public health response. Specifically, he considers the pandemic overwrought, mitigation efforts, like masks, ineffective and the FDA-approved vaccines unsafe.

Still, following Letcher’s lead, county commissioners unanimously voted to override the health board’s recommendation in favor of Bernhard.

“In situations like this, traditionally, I lean on [Letcher] on that,” said County Commissioner Mark Peck after casting his vote in favor of Bernhard. “Just like I think he would give me the same deference if it was a Libby situation."

Letcher, who sits on the health board as well and originally voted for runner-up candidate Patricia Kincheloe, said during the Jan. 20 commissioners meeting that he switched his position after speaking with Bernhard, discussing it with his family and prayer.

It earned praise from Bernhard’s supporters, many of which are vocal pandemic deniers and anti-vaxxers. Several are members of a group that unsuccessfully petitioned county commissioners to disband the health board, oust local Health Officer Dr. Brad Black and rebel against pandemic measures imposed by Helena.

But other Eureka area residents penned letters to the editor to local newspapers, including the Tobacco Valley News, to express their dissatisfaction. They questioned Letcher’s qualifications for supplanting his choice over that of the health board. At least one asked whether commissioners would soon base decisions on schools, infrastructure and vaccinations on their religious beliefs.

And in the lead up to the Feb. 8 health board meeting, when the minutes of the previous gathering were scheduled for approval, there was a push among Bernhard’s supporters to show that his candidacy had been railroaded by the panel.

The events leading to the Jan. 13 roll call vote were messy, but it was clear that Bernhard lacked widespread support from board members. Prior to the description Letcher inserted into the record, members gave a general idea of where they stood on the candidates in round-robin fashion.

Eureka representative Debra Armstrong backed Kincheloe. Letcher offered support for either Bernhard or Kincheloe. Jim Seifert, the Troy representative, favored Peterson. George Jamison, the outgoing at-large member, suggested Kincheloe or Peterson, but said he would likely vote for the latter. Vice Chair Dr. Sara Mertes also favored Kincheloe or Peterson. Laura Crismore, who has since resigned from the board, backed Peterson and then Kincheloe.

After that, Siefert cast a vote for Peterson without a motion on the table while Armstrong attempted to make a motion to nominate Kincheloe. Chair Jan Ivers narrowed down the candidate list to Kincheloe and Peterson. The roll call vote then proceeded.

In an interview after the Feb. 8 health board meeting, Letcher said he wanted to make sure the minutes reflected reality.

“[It was] not necessarily to show it was illegal, just to show that it was reflected properly,” Letcher said.

But Letcher has not hesitated in the past to intervene if meetings deviate from parliamentary procedure. During a December meeting, Letcher interrupted heated discussion of a motion to approve the health officer’s proposed health order to inform his colleagues that the board could not act on the item.

During the selection of a nominee, Letcher said he was caught off guard by the roll call vote and did not feel it was his place to interrupt.

“At that point, I felt like that’s the way it is,” Letcher said. “I didn’t want to cause a big fuss or confusion.”

He also said that the Eureka annex, which is where he participated in the meeting via Zoom, was open to the public. Residents there were speaking while he was trying pay attention, he said.

“I have people trying to talk to me when I was trying to talk, so it was a mess,” he said, describing the scene in the annex. “I was trying to listen to the meeting — the whole thing was just chaotic. There was no ill intent there.”

He also said the fact that Peterson was under contract with county Health Department left him uneasy. Peterson, at the time, said he would let his contract lapse before joining the panel.

As for nearly simultaneous calls from residents to see the meeting minutes edited to show Bernhard’s nomination was derailed, Letcher said he was not associated with the effort. Along with a push on social media earlier in the day, Bernhard’s supporters lobbied for a more expansive explanation during the public comment portion of the meeting.

“I’m concerned that all mentions of the nomination of Scott Bernhard were removed from the minutes,” said Catherine Kahle of Trego “… The minutes should reflect that Scott Bernhard was unnecessarily excluded from the vote.”

Resident DC Orr, who is seeking the position of the Libby representative to the board, went further, arguing that the commissioners’ rehabilitation of Bernhard’s nomination sent a clear message.

“Fortunately, the commissioners had the final say and vetoed your choice,” he said. “The commissioners showed they have no confidence in this board, and the public has no confidence in the primary decision makers in a global pandemic.”

He called the omission an intentional attempt to mislead the public.

But Letcher said he decided to bring the matter up after attending training on parliamentary procedure last week with his colleagues on the board. The course gave him a new perspective on meeting minutes, he said.

“I didn’t actually come up with [the edit] until about an hour before the meeting,” he said. “I happened to be scanning back before the meeting.”

Still, the move was celebrated on local social media pages.

Not every member of the health board approved of the change. Seifert, who has since taken the role of board secretary, asked several times to hear the wording of the change before ultimately voting against the measure.

Bernhard made the motion to accept the minutes with the change and Armstrong provided a second. They joined with Mertes and Letcher in approving the minutes. Seifert was the lone dissenter.