Mira Samantha, director of Health and Human Services, introduced a presentation on applicants for the Public Health Advisory Council (FACC) at the Washington County work session on Jan. 13 and introduced Alex Coleman, staff facilitator for the council. Coleman said the council has 17 at‑large seats intended to represent the community and that at the time of the presentation six seats were vacant.

Coleman said recruitment from September to October produced five new applications, three earlier applications were still on file and one additional application arrived after the recruitment period, for a total of nine applications reviewed; two prior applicants withdrew and one new application was from a current employee and therefore ineligible under state law. After review, staff recommended appointing Ingrid Gonzalez, Catherine Nagani, Georgia Olman, Amber Redding Gazzini, Jessica Dudley and Bridget Deansing and reappointing Ma’am Acollier for an additional term.

Coleman said the recommendations will return as action items at the board’s Jan. 27 business meeting. No board vote was taken during the Jan. 13 work session.