CLARKESVILLE – As due diligence continues between the Hospital Authority of Habersham County, Habersham County and Northeast Georgia Healthcare System over Habersham Medical Center, the Habersham County Commission is keeping the current members of the local hospital authority.
During Monday night’s meeting, Commissioner Ed Nichols asked commissioners to table appointments to the hospital authority.
“I have a motion I’d like to read,” Nichols said. “The motion is in an effort to provide stability with the hospital leadership during the due diligence period with Northeast Georgia Health System, I make a motion to table all appointments to the hospital authority until a definitive agreement is executed between Habersham County, the hospital authority and Northeast Georgia Health System, or until Nov. 18, whichever comes first.”
Commissioner Natalie Crawford seconded the motion, which passed.
Nichols said that definitive agreement is expected to be in place by October.
County Attorney Donnie Hunt pointed out that if a definitive agreement is reached sooner, the appointments automatically would be placed on the next available county commission meeting agenda.
The seats of Victor Anderson, Dolly Ritchie and James Carboy are due to expire and appeared on Monday night’s county commission agenda.
Earlier in the meeting, Bob Guthrie of Cornelia asked Chairman Stacy Hall and commissioners about the appointment of Anderson to the hospital authority in January of this year being listed in meeting minutes as an at-large appointment when it appeared on the agenda as Commissioner Jimmy Tench’s appointment.
“I’ll go ahead and answer that for clarity’s sake,” Hall said. “It was not an error. There was a motion made by the commission to suspend its rules and make that an at-large appointment at that time.”
Hall said the suspension of rules was for that appointment only and not subsequent terms, and that accepted county procedure was followed to arrive at that point.
Also during Monday night’s meeting, Tench and Hall got into a brief heated exchange about whether Tench received his emailed agenda packet for the January meeting at which the hospital authority appointment was to be made.
Commissioner Dustin Mealor was unable to attend Monday’s meeting due to a work commitment, Hall announced.
