Health Department vaccination clinics end this month

At Thursday’s county officials meeting Hill County Public Health Director and Health Officer Kim Larson said due to a lack of attendance the Hill County Health Department will retire its COVID-19 vaccination clinics at the end of this month.

Larson said the clinics have only been drawing 50 people for the last few weeks, so the remaining clinics’ hours will be reduced to noon to 5 p.m. at Holiday Village Mall for the remainder of their time in operation.

She said the department will split their remaining vaccine supply between all providers in the county, but will keep some for ongoing appointments they will be taking for those who still want to be vaccinated.

She also talked about the pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine’s rollout that began recently.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Federal Food and Drug Administration is investigating the possibility of the vaccine having an extremely low-risk side-effect that causes a blood clot disorder.

She emphasized that this is a very rare occurrence and no cases of this disorder has been found in all of Montana.

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci has said this decision is being made out of an abundance of caution and he is still recommending people get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Hill County Commissioners Diane McLean and Mark Peterson encouraged county employees to participate in health insurance open enrollment as well as the county’s new wellness program which focuses on preventative health care.

“We’re noticing things coming with people who have medical needs, and they’re not getting the coverage we think they should,” Peterson said.

McLean also discussed the possibility of changing the county’s policy regarding hiring committees which would add a spot exclusively for a commissioner. She said this was a practice years ago.

Multiple county officials said they weren’t used to doing things that way and Hill County Clerk and Recorder Sue Armstrong questioned whether that is a duty the commission can realistically take on.

“I just don’t think you’re going to have time,” she said.

No decision was made regarding this potential change and McLean said she wanted to get Hill County Attorney Karen Alley’s opinion anyway. Alley was not able to attend the meeting.

Officials also discussed the specifics of a policy change that would allow county employees moving into different positions within the county with similar skill sets to keep their longevity.

Armstrong said Hill County Human Resources Legal Assistant Brittany Pfeifer is the perfect example of why this policy change is needed to maintain fairness.

“She went from one job to another of the exact same type and she had to start all over and I don’t think that’s right,” Armstrong said.

McLean said the commission has been reaching out to other counties for their policies so see if they are workable in Hill County, but the one she received is from a county with very different positions than Hill, so it’s difficult to apply.

Hill County Commissioner Jake Strissel said he’s looking into the policies of more comparable counties.

Larson also brought up the possibility of implementing a policy that would reward employees for getting the education needed for their positions.

“I have a master’s (degree) in public health and it does absolutely nothing for me on the matrix. … That seems a little backwards,” she said.

Officials also discussed the possibility of changing the normally scheduled time of their meeting so it doesn’t push back the commission’s weekly business meeting, which Peterson said has been a matter of confusion for members of the public in the past.

Strissel said the county also opened up requests for proposal on the Milk River Levee project survey this Wednesday.

Peterson said he’s been working on projects regarding the Beaver Creek Dam Spillway, camera installation in the courthouse as well as updates to the heating and cooling system in the Hill County Courthouse and Hill County Detention Center.

McLean said the county’s recent application for CARES Act funds made in January for $324,000 was approved.

Hill County’s new Montana State University Agriculture Extension Agent Colleen Buck also introduced herself and announced that the county would be getting a new food and consumer science Agent May 3.

She said she’s also participating in a drought workshop April 28 to address weather-related issues for farmers and ranchers this year.

At the Hill County Commission’s weekly business meeting later that day, the commissioners discussed a contract with the city for their ambulance service.

The contract was tabled due to confusion regarding a paragraph that appears to state that any difference between an expected payment based on predicted tax revenue will be transferred to the next installment.

Armstrong said she believes that’s meant to address the possibility that the payment might be lower due to some people not paying their taxes on time, but asked the commission to get in touch with Hill County Treasurer Sandy Brown for clarification, something she said she wishes the commission had done before bringing it up for a vote.

The commission also announced the appointment of Bob Kaul, Robert Sivertsen, Lex Kellen, and Daryl Wright to the Great Northern Fair Board.

Peterson said it was a difficult decision due to the quality of the applicants.

“We had some very qualified applicants,” Strissel agreed.

The commission also announced the resignation of Beaver Creek Park Assistant Superintendent Aubrey Williams and approved a task order for Great West Engineering to assist with the creation of a new RSID for the Milk River Levee District.