Hickman County TN

Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34

Opioid Board · Meeting · Jul 14, 2026 · 4:00 PM

Tue, Jul 14, 2026

Directs opioid settlement funds and local strategies for prevention, treatment, and recovery serving Hickman County residents.

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Outline

This outline was generated by an LLM from a transcript and may contain errors or inaccuracies. Prefer the original recording when available.

The board approved its financial report with a remaining balance of $58,054.85 after $165,000 was allocated for school behavioral health, while also noting expected reimbursements of about $30,000 from the school and $13,000–$15,000 from United Way. Members also confirmed that $22,000 had already been disbursed to Prevention Now and that the school behavioral-health allocation had advanced to the budget committee and was headed next to the accounting commission.

The main substantive discussion was United Way’s new funding application. Board members questioned outdated dates, stale contact information, and the fact that the named project lead, Katie Harrington, had stepped away for health and personal reasons. Rather than reject the request, the board voted to defer it to the next meeting so United Way could submit a cleaned-up application with current information and potentially revise the amount requested. Other notable threads included a small remaining Educare balance of about $2,000 and the decision to move the next meeting to August 25 at 4:00 p.m.

Roll Call / Opening Business

  • A quorum was confirmed with Chair Joan Melrose absent and Vice Chair Sarah Talley presiding.
  • The board gave the pledge and prayer.
  • The agenda was approved by motion and second without objection.
  • The prior meeting’s minutes were approved by motion and second without objection.

Public Comments

  • A member of the public briefly said he had been out of the loop and was catching up; no substantive issue was raised for board action.

Financial Report

Financial report

  • The board was told that after the prior month’s action, $165,000 had been allocated to the school system’s behavioral-health effort, leaving an available balance of $58,054.85.
  • Additional funds were expected back into the opioid account:
    • about $30,000 from the school for unused funds at year end;
    • $13,000 from United Way, with the check reportedly mailed but not yet received, and a plan to wait another week before asking for it to be voided and reissued if necessary.
  • A member clarified that both behavioral-health and United Way reimbursements were expected because the money had not been used.
  • Motion, second, and approval: the financial report / budget was approved without opposition.

Old Business

Prior grants and reimbursements

  • The board said reimbursement issues from older grants had largely been covered in the financial discussion.
  • $22,000 had been sent out to Prevention Now after the contract was completed, and the money had already been disbursed.
  • The $165,000 school behavioral-health allocation had gone to the budget committee the previous night and was expected to go to the accounting commission later in the month; contracting would begin after that approval path was complete.

Educare balance

  • Members asked whether the board was finished with Educare.
  • The update was that Educare still owed about $2,000, though the board was satisfied to have already recovered $60,000.
  • One member asked that the board be kept updated in case the remainder ever needed to be written off.
  • Another member argued that pursuing legal action over roughly $2,000 would likely cost more in legal fees than the debt itself, suggesting practical limits on collection.

New Business / Agenda Items

United Way funding application

  • United Way returned with an application that had been tabled previously because of questions about the dates and paperwork.

  • Board members pointed out multiple apparent errors in the submitted application, including dates showing 2025 submission information and at least one clearly incorrect receive date entry.

  • The current request was described as $30,000, lower than the prior $60,000 grant.

  • Members questioned how the organization had moved from a prior grant structure that included a $39,000 director salary to a current request showing only $10,000 for a part-time CPS/prevention position.

  • United Way’s explanation was that it hoped other grant funding would supplement the opioid-board request so opioid money would not have to cover the full staffing cost.

  • The board then learned that Katie Harrington, the person listed in the application as responsible for the project, had stepped away because of personal and health issues and was no longer available to run the work.

  • United Way said the position was currently unfilled, though it had spoken with a Hickman County resident who might consider taking the role if funding were secured.

  • This created a “catch-22” discussed by the board: United Way said it was hard to hire someone without guaranteed salary funding, while members questioned approving an application that named a person no longer in place.

  • To help newer board members, United Way explained the purpose of the program:

    • United Way has helped start prevention coalitions in other counties, including Williamson and Robertson.
    • In Hickman County, the grant supports prevention outreach such as school visits, county events, distribution of information and resource boxes, and youth-focused drug-prevention education.
    • The effort primarily starts with younger students, with the possibility of later grants aimed at high school students or older adults.
    • United Way serves as fiscal agent because the grants are reimbursable.

  • Members also asked about public access and contact information.

    • United Way said there is a Hickman County Prevention Coalition website.
    • A 1-800 number was discussed, but members questioned whether it connected directly to a local Hickman County contact.
    • It was noted that the prior staff member had worked from home and had set up much of the website and phone structure herself.
    • Members were concerned that the current application and public-facing information still centered on the departed employee.

  • Board concerns centered on credibility and completeness rather than opposition to the program itself:

    • incorrect dates made the application look unreliable;
    • the listed contact person and project lead were outdated;
    • members wanted current information on who would run the program if funded;
    • some suggested a fresh application could also allow United Way to reconsider the request amount rather than feel limited to $30,000.

  • Motion and outcome:

    • A motion was made and seconded to defer the United Way application until the next meeting so it could be cleaned up, corrected, and updated with replacement-contact information.
    • The motion passed without opposition.
    • During the discussion, the board encouraged United Way to submit a fully revised application and indicated it was not necessarily capped at $30,000 if a stronger, updated request was warranted.

Announcements

Next meeting date

  • Because multiple members expected conflicts with the usual second Tuesday meeting date, the board discussed alternatives.
  • The usual August 11 meeting date appeared problematic for several members.
  • Members considered August 4 and August 25, then agreed by voice vote to move the next meeting to August 25 at 4:00 p.m.

Adjournment

  • A motion to adjourn was made after setting the next meeting date.

Key figures and statistics

Figure Type Context / topic
$165,000 Allocation Funds allocated toward school behavioral health
$58,054.85 Balance Remaining opioid-board balance after school allocation
$30,000 Expected reimbursement / estimate Approximate unused funds expected back from the school
$13,000 Expected reimbursement Check expected from United Way, reportedly mailed but not yet received
$15,000 Expected reimbursement Later reference to United Way reimbursement amount while reviewing old business
$22,000 Disbursement Prevention Now contract amount already sent out
$2,000 Receivable Approximate remaining amount still owed by Educare
$60,000 Prior grant / recovered amount Amount already recovered from or associated with Educare, cited as significant progress
2025 Date error Outdated year appearing on United Way application dates
August 31, 2025 Date error One of the questioned dates appearing on the application
November 1, 2025 Date error Another questioned application date
August 27, 2025 Date error Referenced submission date on the application
$30,000 Grant request Current United Way request before deferral
$60,000 Prior grant amount Prior United Way-related grant amount referenced in discussion
$39,000 Salary Prior director salary listed in the earlier $60,000 grant
$10,000 Salary request Current application amount for part-time staffing / prevention role
1-800-889-9789 Contact number Phone number discussed from the prevention coalition website
911 Contact number Emergency number listed on the website
211 Contact number United Way resource/database number listed on the website
988 Contact number Mental-health / crisis line referenced during website discussion
20 Age Approximate age mentioned for Katie Harrington
August 11 Meeting date Usual next meeting date that created conflicts
August 4 Alternate date One alternative next-meeting date discussed
August 25 Meeting date New next meeting date approved by the board
4:00 p.m. Time Approved time for the next meeting