KINGMAN – The Hospital District Number One of Mohave County met on May 5 and handled several matters prior to an Arizona Open Meeting Law presentation by Chief Civil Deputy County Attorney Jason Mitchell.
Board members discussed the legal billings bill from their attorney, Thomas Price, and his role in a formal federal civil rights complaint against the KRMC Del E. Webb Wellness Center by Dr. Mark Berry who is running for Mayor of Kingman.
In the 17-page complaint, Berry alleges Repeated Interference with Protected Speech, Potential First Amendment Violations and also a violation of Arizona Public Accommodation Law. The Hospital District was named in the complaint. He wrote in the complaint that it concerns repeated interference with private, non-disruptive conversations occurring in the Del E. Webb Wellness Center.
He further stated he was directed to cease conversations regarding politics and ordered to leave the facility.
Dr. Newmyer questioned why attorney Price was investigating the matter.
Price stated that he had a discussion with the hospital counsel and they are taking the lead. “I need to protect the hospital district because you are named,” he said. “You just can’t leave complaints out there presuming someone’s going to take care of it.”
In other business, the board discussed insurance coverage for directors and voted unanimously to purchase the baseline D&O (Directors and Officers) policy for an approximate cost of $21,000.00 and hold off on the EPL (Employment Practices Liability) and Cyber coverage.
Marsh advised the board members that they are at a standstill with emails and communication. “We voted to have Google Suites but the problem is the board does not have a debit card. We can’t move forward with actually getting the technology that we need because we have no way to pay for it,” he said.
“All right, so, I’m working on that, I’ve got a credit card company that would meet our needs, Ramp (Ramp Corporate Visa Card), I believe. So, I will set that up,” interjected Tacheron. There was no board action taken on that matter.
Banks generally offer debit cards to their checking customers and the board has a checking account.
The board voted unanimously to offer the job of Recording Secretary to Catherine Furtado. The job title was changed to Executive Assistant and the hourly rate was raised from $35 to $40. This action is covered in a separate article.
No financial report or Balance Sheet Summary was provided for the month of March. A budget meeting will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2 in KRMC Mohave A Conference Room at 3269 Stockton Hill Rd.
