St. Clair County health advisory meeting adjourns for lack of quorum as residents raise Open Meetings Act concerns

The St. Clair County Health Advisory Board adjourned its formal session after the chair said the panel lacked a quorum and continued the gathering informally to hear public comment, during which residents raised potential violations of the Michigan Open Meetings Act and urged action on clinic closures.

The chair announced, "At this time, we do not, as you can see, have a quorum, and so we will be adjourning the meeting," then said the group would continue informally and could not take formal action. The informal session allowed public comment but, as several speakers noted, precluded motions or votes.

Carol Miller, a resident who addressed the board during the informal session, said she observed board member Mr. Watkins take a notepad belonging to long-serving board member Ms. Mueller and write on it while discussion was underway. Miller said Ms. Mueller later showed her the note, which Miller described as saying, "Time may run out" with three exclamation points.

Miller cited state law in urging the board to consider the legal implications. "All decisions of a…