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Stew Lilker’s

Columbia County Observer

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Lake Shore Hosp Authority

Hosp Auth Board Member Vann's Resignation Kept Secret – Revealed After 11 Minute Meeting


Today's LCR did a write up on the resignation of Board member Vann. Nowhere in the LCR article did it mention that Mr. Vann's resignation was not made public during the meeting.

COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Last night Governor Scott's Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board took care of its business in a record 11 minutes to big smiles from Board Chairwoman Lory Chancy and Manager Jackson P. "Jack" Berry. After the gavel fell, Board member Janet Creel remarked, "Are you kidding. This is the shortest one we've ever had."

In addition to what was provided on the last minute agenda, which was clearly designed to keep the public in the dark, two items of important business took place: one before and one after the meeting.

Before the Meeting


    Tim Murphy

Before the meeting was gaveled to order, Board member Tim Murphy had questions about reading the check register.

Mr. Murphy left his seat and stood between Manager Berry and Chairwoman Chancy. The conversation was muffled.

It was clear that Mr. Murphy didn't understand the payroll section of the check register, which he has been approving since he was appointed by Governor Scott on September 5, 2013.

Manager Jack Berry had been approving the check registers since he was appointed to the Board by Governor Jeb Bush in 2004. Mr. Berry was heard to say, "I don't know how that works."

Mr. Berry told Mr. Murphy that Sonja (Meads), the Authority's Administrative Assistant, knows how that works.

Ms. Meads walked over to Mr. Berry [as spoken]. "This right here. Sonja. Where is payroll is, where it says split, split, split. Do you know what that is?" he asked.

The check register, which shows what checks the Authority wrote for the month, was not made available for inspection before the Authority meeting. It was unanimously approved by the Governor's Board, without comment.

Vann Resignation Kept Under Wraps

The resignation of Board Member Marc Vann, one of Columbia County's quintessential Good ole' Boys, was kept under wraps during the Authority Board meeting.

Mr. Vann was appointed to the Authority Board by Gov. Charlie Crist in 2007 and was reappointed by Governor Rick Scott in 2012. His term expires on July 19, 2015.

A few moments after the meeting was adjourned Board member Janet Creel was heard to say, "His resignation's in there. We didn't mention it."

Mr. Vann said, "I quit every month."

Manager Berry added, "He did quit... well, I didn't accept it."

In 2010, Mr. Vann, the owner of a carpet and flooring company, was Chairman of the Lake Shore Hospital Authority Board and was instrumental in negotiating the new lease between the Authority and Health Management Associates (HMA) for the lease of the Hospital.

This appears to be the only time in his tenure that there was the possibility of taking the Authority's Shands at Lake Shore Hospital private. During the lease negotiations, at least publically, the privatization of the hospital was never discussed.

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