Woodway delays health district renewal after questioning from council members

The health district is asking its partners, including McLennan County and the county’s cities, to approve a new five-year agreement starting Oct. 1 that includes a 50% increase in contributions.

Based on its 2020 population of 9,400, Woodway would owe $45,000 a year by the end of the next five-year cycle, up from $28,000 this fiscal year.

During a council discussion Monday with health district Director LaShonda Malrey-Horne, most council members, including Mayor Amine Qourzal, voiced support for renewing the agreement.

But Council Member Dave Keyston questioned the value of spending that much on services that he claimed benefit “less than 2.5%” of residents. Council Member Dave Russell, a frequent ally of Keyston, suggested seeking an annual renewal rather than a five-year agreement.

Russell asked Malrey-Horne to provide a breakdown of increased costs over the past five years and the numbers of Woodway residents participating in health district services over the same time period. Malrey-Horne said she would do her best. The council voted 5-1 to delay the renewal vote until Aug. 14. Qourzal voted against the delay, and Council Member Gayle Avant was not at the meeting.

“We should do this,” Council Member Storey Cook said. “We can inform our residents of the services offered and more will take advantage. I want these services to continue without question.”

Under the proposed agreement, city contributions would increase gradually each year, from $3 per person the first year to $4.75 in the fifth year. McLennan County’s share would increase from $2.25 per person to $3.75 per person in that time.

Eleven out of 18 funding cities have already approved the new interlocal agreement with its new contribution schedule, a district spokesperson said Wednesday.

Russell asked the director about the reason for the proposed 50% increase in contributions from cities.

Malrey-Horne answered that cost of supplies has risen, along with the cost of living for employees, who are typically trained in public health.

“If we were to hire untrained employees, they would do lower quality work and lower quality inspections and investigations,” Malrey-Horne said.

Council Member John Williams noted that the recent pandemic showed everyone what was really needed in public health.

“We should not expect them to scale back,” Williams said.

Malrey-Horne said the health district serves 19 mothers a month in Woodway through the Women, Infants and Children program, and about 200 in case management for HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Those numbers prompted Keyston to calculate that the district serves 2.5% of residents in the city.

But Malrey-Horne said all county residents, including Woodway residents, benefit from public health services such as restaurant inspections and mosquito abatement.

The city of Waco transferred governance of the health district in 2000 to a board representing contributing municipalities, which today includes McLennan County and almost all of its cities. Woodway City Manager Shawn Oubre now serves on the board.

Since 2000, the health district has shifted its direct care for low-income patients to Waco Family Medicine and refocused on preventive efforts. Those include restaurant health inspections and vaccinations as well as case management and epidemiology to contain health threats such as COVID-19, Mpox, hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, and sexually transmitted infections, Malrey-Horne said.

The health district also administers the federal nutrition and health program for Women, Infants and Children and operates a medical and dental clinic for these individuals on most Fridays within the 18th Street Community Health and Dental Clinic of Waco Family Medicine.

Significant services the health district provides to Woodway and other outlying cities include twice-yearly food safety inspections including all restaurants, school cafeterias, food trucks and licensed child care centers, in addition to WIC services and case management for certain diseases.

These are the only food safety inspectors available to inspect Woodway permit holders.

The district pays food safety inspectors an average of around $51,000 each — more than the total proposed contribution of Woodway.

Under the current contract, McLennan County pays 12% of the $4.8 million local contribution to the health district, while the city of Waco pays 56% and other cities pay 5%, according to a slide from the health district. Revenue for services accounts for 27%.

As to Russell’s suggestion that Woodway could renew its health district agreement annually, David Shaw, the city attorney, answered that such a measure would require an amendment to the contract and would affect all members.

Council Member Williams argued that that an annual renewal could result in even more requests for increases from members.

Many of the health district’s employees are funded through federal grants the city of Waco obtains from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the director pointed out.

“If the CDC increases the grants that allow us to hire employees we need, as well as grants that are specifically targeted, then we may be able to offer all the cities a reduction in the contributions,” Malrey-Horne said.

In other action Monday, the council agreed to pay $37,000 to Walker Partners LLC to prepare designs to refurbish Bosque Ground Storage Tank and other co-located water supply equipment.

Council Member Russell joined in the unanimous vote after questioning.

“If we’re just painting the outside, why do we have to hire engineers?” Russell asked.

Shaw, the city attorney, said projects this size must be designed by engineers before being put out to bid.

The refurbishment of the tank will include other required maintenance at that location as well, City Manager Oubre said.

Walker Partners will also oversee the project and provide inspectors to verify the work of the hired contractors at key points in the project, engineer Jacob Bell of Walker Partners said.

The city of Woodway has six wells in different locations throughout the city, said John Norman, the city’s assistant director of community services and development. This project is included in planned maintenance for the city’s water system, Norman said in a Wednesday email.

The Woodway City Council also voted unanimously to cancel the interest and penalties applied to Oncor Electric Delivery Company’s property tax payments, which were delayed in receipt due to Dallas-area post office errors during a winter storm and freeze Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, when many roads in North Texas were frozen over and closed.