Libby City Council weighs options for health board rep

City councilors in Libby are mulling appointing one of their own to the county health board if better-suited candidates fail to apply.

Libby, like Eureka and Troy, holds a seat on the seven-member panel. Until recently, Laura Crismore of Cabinet Peaks Medical Center served as the municipality’s representative. She resigned in January, citing a mounting workload as a result of the pandemic and a perceived push for fewer medical professionals on the board.

City councilors promptly opened the position up to willing candidates, requesting letters of interest and resumes from applicants. Three residents submitted their materials by the Feb. 5 deadline: attorney Ann German, Tracy McNew of the Center for Asbestos Related Disease and former City Councilor DC Orr. A fourth applicant dropped out prior to Feb. 16,* the date councilors planned to interview candidates and make a selection.

At that meeting, though, the city council held off on taking any action. Members cited the lackluster response for the position as a reason to delay a selection. Ultimately, they reopened the application period until March 10 with an appointment tentatively scheduled to be made at the council’s March 15 meeting.

“This is a very delicate and important topic for the City of Libby and I think we need to select the correct candidate for this position,” said City Councilor Gary Beach at the time. “It would behoove us to listen to our citizens and open this up for a few more weeks and see if we can attract a better candidate for our city.”

Beach was among several city councilors to receive a slew of emails and phone calls regarding the potential appointment.

But as of the body’s March 1 meeting, city councilors were looking at the same slate of candidates.

“We had some folks interested [in the position] and ask about how to go about it, but I haven’t seen any paperwork for it,” said Mayor Brent Teske.

Given the lack of response, City Councilor Hugh Taylor raised the idea of picking a city councilor to fill the vacancy. During the Feb. 16 meeting, Taylor asked about making a city councilor a temporary representative to the health board, which likely will meet prior to Libby selecting a candidate.

“I’ve talked to people locally,” he said. “It’s my opinion it wouldn’t be a bad position to take that our representative on the health board be a councilmember — we are all voted representatives of the City of Libby — versus appointing someone from the public.”

Teske said the health board in the past has included city councilors. City Councilor Kristin Smith also praised the idea as potentially advantageous. It would give city council a direct pipeline to the health board, she said.

“The [Lincoln County Board of Commissioners] have a commissioner on the health board,” she said. “I see the merits and the benefits to that. If something comes up that pertains more to the city, then the city councilperson might … more readily be able to respond to it.”

Smith said she preferred to wait and see what candidates came forward before moving to appoint a colleague. Especially since city councilors lacked backgrounds that could potentially help round out the health board.

During the Feb. 16 meeting, city councilors questioned health board Chair Jan Ivers on what, if any, additional guidelines existed for panel members. Ivers referred to the board’s bylaws, which call for prospective members to have 10 years of professional or academic experience, when possible, in fields including health care, environmental science and engineering.

Attending the March 1 meeting, county Health Department Director Kathi Hooper said an individual with experience in education or mental health could benefit the board. Pandemics aside, board members usually are busy with environmental health issues, she said.

“I know that last [city council] meeting you had asked about what might have been lacking; we are lacking a connection with the schools,” Hooper said, before turning to mental health. “We certainly have a lot of mental health issues, but we don’t have a real mental health expert on the board.”

Hooper spoke at the behest of Smith, who asked that she describe the level of commitment the position requires during a typical year. Smith worried that recent board meetings, often lengthy, contentious and occasionally marred with invectives, might deter qualified individuals.

“I was wondering if it would be beneficial for all of us to hear what a health board participant would be getting themselves into,” Smith said. “Things have been very interesting over the last year, but that’s not always been the case.”

Teske said the residents he had spoken to regarding the spot had little interest in dealing with the vitriol.

“I reached out to several business owners last time and there was no interest. It wasn’t even the time [commitment], it was the scrutiny and the beating,” Teske said. “It’s unfortunate that’s the way it’s been perceived, because it doesn’t have to be like that.”

City Councilor Brian Zimmerman said he supported the idea of selecting a city councilor if need be, but encouraged his colleagues to try and enlist prospective candidates.

“We definitely have some more people we can all try and reach out to,” Zimmerman said.

Teske urged city councilors to take Zimmerman’s approach and contact anyone qualified and potentially interested in the volunteer position. But he asked that they continue to consider the idea of appointing a city councilor to the position.

“That’s something to mull over, even amongst yourselves,” Teske said.

Residents interested in applying have until March 10 to submit an application, which consists of a letter of interest and resume. Application packets can be mailed to City Hall at 952 East Spruce St., Libby, MT 59923 or dropped off between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

*The date has been corrected.