Commissioners Backing Off Health Takeover Officials May Delay Vote Or Decide Against Seizure

County commissioners wavered Thursday in their bid to take over the Spokane County Health District.

At a minimum, commissioners said, they will vote Tuesday to delay the seizure by one year - to Jan. 1, 1997. At most, they might vote to keep their hands off the independent agency.

“The last thing I want this to be is a hostile takeover,” said Commissioner Steve Hasson, the driving force behind the proposal.

Hasson’s attitude Thursday was a sharp departure from his rhetoric just a day before when he was adamant about wanting control of the health agency.

While he still favors putting the agency under the county umbrella, Hasson said Thursday the one-year delay would give county managers time to study the financial consequences of such a move.

Critics, including the state’s top public health official, say the takeover not only would jeopardize and politicize public health, but it also would cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in transition costs.

“We want to proceed forth, but we reserve the right that if something goes amiss or afoul between now and then, we will opt for the status quo,” Hasson said.

Commission Chairman Phil Harris said as late as Wednesday he favored the takeover with some reservations. But on Thursday, he wavered. “I’m not totally convinced we should take it over.”

Harris noted that regardless of what the commissioners do at their next meeting, at 5 p.m. Tuesday, “we can undo everything.”

Commissioner George Marlton remains solidly opposed to the takeover and urged opponents to help change the state law that permits it.

Earlier this year, the Washington Legislature, trying to solve funding woes that have plagued a few West Side counties, crafted a broad law that allows all counties to take over health districts.

For 25 years, the Spokane County agency has been run independently under the eyes of an eight-member board. The panel includes the three county commissioners, three Spokane City Council members and two representatives from small towns.

Even Hasson is encouraging health district employees to lobby the Legislature against including Spokane County in the new law.

“Obviously, there are a lot of fears right now,” Hasson said.

One of the most frightened takeover opponents is Bruce Miyahara, secretary of the state Department of Health.

He visited Spokane on Wednesday to investigate and left frustrated at Harris and Hasson, saying the takeover makes “no sense” from a management or public health standpoint. The health district is recognized now, he said, as one of the state’s finest.

Health district employees, as well as the county’s medical establishment and some former political leaders, strongly oppose the seizure.

Agency employees were high-fiving and celebrating Thursday, although they didn’t want to comment out of fear the takeover still could be approved.

Former county Commissioner Pat Mummey said the commissioners caved in to public pressure and did the right thing Thursday.She predicted that by the time any takeover takes place, Hasson and Marlton will be voted off the commission.

“This is good news for the public health of Spokane County,” she said.

Hasson’s and Harris’ justification for the takeover is the county has more resources to run the agency.

But many health district employees said the seizure has only one explanation. “This is simply a power grab by one county commissioner (Hasson),” said one worker, who feared retaliation if named.

Only a couple of citizens publicly have supported the takeover.

One of them, Spokane businessman Larry Wendel, said the agency already is too political and heavy-handed and would be in better hands if managed by commissioners.

“We’d have better control,” said Wendel, owner of Appleway Septic Tank Service.

Wendel helped manage Hasson’s last campaign for commissioner and has butted heads with health regulators several times over the years.

The health district shut down Wendel’s septic lagoons at Spangle, south of Spokane, 18 months ago.

Wendel blames the agency for over-regulation. He likes Hasson’s plan to appoint citizens to an advisory board to hear public health issues and make recommendations to county commissioners once they have seized the agency.

“None of the eight I feel are really qualified,” Wendel said of current board members, which include commissioners. “Put a good cross section of people on there who deal with this stuff every day.”

, DataTimes