Township, village officials concerned about proposed KMHC bylaws

KALKASKA – The boards and committees that help oversee Kalkaska Memorial Health Center could soon be operating under a new set of bylaws. But, that’s exactly what has some township and village officials concerned.

The local medical facility is owned and funded by Kalkaska County’s 12 townships and the Village of Kalkaska. Various officials, however, are worried that the proposed bylaws might limit their participation and effectiveness in determining KMHC’s direction and future.

“It’s our hospital,” said Terry Williams, supervisor of Rapid River Township. “The townships own it. We will make the decisions.”

The battle over the bylaw changes could reach a new phase when the KMHC Board of Trustees meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22 at the Dr. William Kitti Stone House.

Some of the changes that have raised red flags with local officials concern the possible expansion of powers to the medical center’s executive board, which they fear would reduce the 20-member authority board that includes 13 township and village representatives to a “rubber stamp,” and not an effective part of the decision-making process.

Under the new bylaws, the executive committee would also “be empowered and authorized to carry on the duties of the board of trustees and shall carry on the active administrative duties of the authority.”

Diana Needham, Kalkaska Village Council trustee and KMHC board member, said she’s uneasy how such language reads.

“There’s some concerns,” Needham said. “The long and the short of it, control would rest with the executive committee, rather than the whole board.

“That’s the biggest issue for me.”

Other concerns revolve around a loyalty clause that states hospital officers and trustees “have a duty of undivided loyalty” to KMHC and in all matters affecting the facility’s interests.

But, Williams said that might work against the interests of the township, with any appointee no longer operating with its best interests in mind. Also, he added that a township representative who continues to work for the township first and KMHC second could be taken off the board for not being loyal, as outlined by the bylaws.

“There’s 13 township (and village) representatives,” Williams said. “They’re there to represent the interests of the townships.

“It would take the ownership away from the townships, as far as I understand it.”

Bruce Zenner II, chairman of KMHC’s executive board, said it’s too early to comment on the proposed bylaws before board members engage in any detailed discussions, and called some perceptions of the language changes as inaccurate.

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