The Flathead County Board of Health is hoping to fill the soon-to-be vacant public health officer position with Joe Russell, a longtime Flathead Valley resident who previously held the position for 20 years before retiring from the Flathead City-County Health Department in June 2017.

The health board voted Thursday during a special meeting to enter into contract negotiations with Russell. The board must give initial candidate approval before negotiations can begin, which typically includes discussions surrounding salary, job responsibilities and more.

Kyle Waterman, health board member and chair of the personnel committee, said during the meeting he is hopeful negotiations will move along swiftly so that Russell can start the job by the end of the year when Interim Public Health Officer Tamalee St. James Robinson leaves the position.

“The personnel committee has met and discussed that it is really important for us to conclude this search and to find a successful candidate. We didn’t want to postpone it or move on and this is an applicant that we think is fitting for our needs and where we are and is also available,” Waterman said. “This does seem like it will be a way to conclude this search and fill this position and hopefully fill it before the new year.”

Other board members underscored the need to fill the position sooner than later, and agreed Russell is a strong candidate to carry the health department through the coming months. Not only would Russell be coming on in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also would help the health department and county navigate its pending separation from the Flathead Community Health Center and would guide the mass deployment of a COVID-19 vaccine, the first shipment of which is slated to arrive in Flathead County on Dec. 13, Robinson said.

“I think it’s a good choice; I think we have someone here that can hit the ground running and we are going to need that as we move into the next phase of this with the vaccine coming up and all of that, so I think that I fully support moving forward with the negotiation,” said Flathead County Commissioner Pam Holmquist, who is also a health board member.

The one-year contract comes with an opportunity to extend that timeline at a later date. Although the personnel committee was considering filling the position with another interim individual, Waterman said that would not be the case with Russell, and that he and others on the committee plan on retiring their search efforts should negotiations come to mutual.

Russell started his career at the Flathead City-County Health Department in 1986 as a sanitarian, according to a 2001 article by the Daily Inter Lake. He was part of a team that tackled not only major influenza outbreaks, but also the measles outbreak of 1989 as well — occasions that required not only a robust public-health response, but the deployment of vaccines as well.

Throughout Russell’s 30-year career in public health, he emphasized the importance of teamwork among the health department staff and the valley’s other health-care stakeholders. He also consistently showed gratitude for his role as public health officer.

“I’m just so lucky to have the health board, the nurses, the health workers that are around me,” Russell said in the 2001 article, which was written about three years after being named public health officer. “I love my job. I’m one of those fortunate people who get up in the morning and can’t wait to get back to work.”

Every health board member voted in favor of moving forward with contract negotiations, with the exception of Dr. Annie Bukacek, who abstained after citing concerns related to how quickly the board was moving to hire Russell, among others.

Member Roger Noble was not present and therefore, his vote was not counted.

Once the terms of the contract have been fully negotiated, another special meeting will be called so the health board can take a final vote on the hire.

Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4407 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com