Opioid Settlement

OPIOID SETTLEMENT AD-HOC COMMITTEE Thursday, August 21, 2025 Third Floor Meeting Room Members present: Courtney Graff, Kristi Tlusty, Tracy Hartwig, Judge Ann Knox-Bauer, Suzanne Stanfley and Kala Thompson. Members absent: Jim Metz, Chuck Zenner and Michelle Cahoon. Other Attendees: Nicole Hager and Andria Farrand. Call Meeting to Order: Courtney Graff called the meeting to order at 12:06 p.m. Approve Agenda: Motion by Knox-Bauer, seconded by Hartwig, to approve the agenda with 8 items. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of the August 11, 2025, committee meeting: Motion by Knox-Bauer, seconded by Thompson, to approve the minutes of the August 11, 2025, committee meeting. Motion carried. Revisions to the application: There was discussion about additional modifications to the application utilizing Exhibit E. Motion by Tlusty, seconded by Stanfley, to ensure that further applications are tied to the approved uses outlined in Schedule B of Exhibit E. Motion carried. Further discussion asked that the specific approved use be identified as well as a statement of how the proposed use will fit into the category. Determine parameters to requesting funds: There was a lot of discussion on the latest approved applications and using the funds for salaries and benefits. Motion by Tlusty, seconded by Thompson, that any additional funds be focused on treatment of substance abuse and co - occurring disorders. Motion carried. There was then a motion by Tlusty, seconded by Knox - Bauer, that any future applications should not include salaries and benefits for existing county employees. Motion carried. There was additional discussion about having a subgroup review the applications on a quarterly basis, prior to their presentation to the full committee. Other items from the committee: None. Adjourn: Motion by Tlusty, seconded by Knox-Bauer, to adjourn the me eting at 12:35 p.m. Motion carried. Andria Farrand County Clerk OPIOID SETTLEMENT AD-HOC COMMITTEE Monday, August 11, 2025 Third Floor Meeting Room Members present: Chuck Zenner, Kristi Tlusty, Tracy Hartwig, Judge Ann Knox -Bauer, Suzanne Stanfley. Members absent: Jim Metz, Courtney Graff, Michelle Cahoon and Kala Thompson. Other Attendees: Nicole Hager, Melissa Moore and Andria Farrand. Call Meeting to Order: Chuck Zenner called the meeting to order at 12:02 p.m. Approve Agenda: Motion by Tlusty, seconded by Hartwig, to approve the agenda with 13 items. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of the June 5, 2025, committee meeting: Motion by Tlusty, seconded by Hartwig, to approve the minutes of the June 5, 2025, committee meeting. Motion carried. Incoming funds: Zenner stated that there are 2 checks coming in from the Kroger settlement, $2035.26 each. Review of financial report: Hartwig provided the committee with the updated financials including the total in the account as well as the total amount committed. Of the $220,780.03 received, we have $195,000.00 committed by resolutions. The total amount available is $25,780.03. Resolution delegating the authority to enter into settlement agreements with opioid defendants to the designated Taylor County officer or officers: Farrand suggested that the authority be delegated to the Administrative Coordinator, Corporation Counsel and County Board Chair ( or any combination thereof), as now it is only Corporation Counsel. Motion by Zenner, seconded by Knox -Bauer, to approve the delegation of authority to the Administrative Coordinator, Corporation Counsel and County Board Chair ( or any combination thereof). Motion carried. Resolution to authorize Taylor County to participate in the new national opioids settlement: This is a new settlement opportunity for Taylor County to participate in with Purdue and the Sackler family. Motion by Stanfley, seconded by Hartwig, to approve participation. Motion carried. Update on Vital Strategies grants: Moore presented an update on our submission for grant funds from Vital Strategies. She was told that they are not able to fund us at this time. Of all the counties that requested funds, only Sawyer County was awarded money. Moore also stated that the sharps drop boxes will be coming in this week. Update on vending machines: Moore stated that they continue to be well utilized, and she will provide usage at the next meeting. Other items from the committee: Tlusty stated that the application should also contain the approved purpose from the original documents so that it is available when Courtney does our reporting. Moore will update the application. Adjourn: Motion by Tlusty, seconded by Knox -Bauer, to adjourn the meeting at 12:25 p.m. Motion carried. Andria Farrand County Clerk OPIOID SETTLEMENT AD-HOC COMMITTEE Thursday, June 5, 2025 Third Floor Meeting Room Members Present: Jim Metz, Courtney Graff, Kristi Tlusty, Tracy Hartwig, Chuck Zenner, Judge Ann Knox-Bauer and Kala Thompson Members Absent: Suzanne Stanfley and Michelle Cahoon. Other Attendees: Nicole Hager, Wendy Ness, Daniel Gellert, Lilly Tanula, Melissa Moore and Andria Farrand. Call Meeting to Order: Jim Metz called the meeting to order at 12:04 p.m. Amend the agenda: Moore asked that we make a few amendments to the agenda: • Change the requested dollar amount for Man Therapy to $20,000.00. Change the last two bulleted applications in agenda item 8, to four separate requests: • Establish 24/7 drop boxes, to protect public health and safety. • Protecting residents from medication misuse with additional disposal options. • Providing support and engaging the community in recovery efforts. • Increasing Taylor County’s ability to respond quickly to an overdose with Pulse Point. Approve Agenda: Motion by Zenner, seconded by Hartwig, to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of the April 17, 2025, committee meeting: Motion by Zenner, seconded by Knox -Bauer, to approve the minutes of the April 17, 2025, committee meeting. Motion carried. Incoming funds: Graff stated there were no payments received since the last meeting. Update from Courtney: • Dakota Drug was dismissed from the lawsuit. • Graff shared the handout from MDL 2804 attorney fee fund which stated information on the contingency fee agreement as well as the complete list of counsel representing Taylor County. • Graff reviewed the communication regarding the notice of deadline of June 16 th to dispute the Wisconsin Payment Allocations “Year 5”. I did not recommend disputing the amount. • A new resolution was presented which is proposing to add defendants to the lawsuit. Motion by Zenner, seconded by Knox-Bauer, to approve. Motion carried. Review of financial report: Hartwig provided the committee with the updated financials including the total in the account as well as the total amount committed. Of the $220,580.28 received, we have $137,500.00 committed, by resolutions, and $15,000.00 approved for Man Therapy needing a resolution. The total amount remaining is $63,080.28. Motion by Zenner, seconded by Metz, to approve as presented. Motion carried. Procedure update to receive approved funds: There was some discussion around revising the procedure to ensure all steps are taken when a project is approved. There was an issue with the Man Therapy project that was approved in July 2024. The funds were distributed without approval from the County Board. The resolution will now go to the County Board at the June 24th meeting for approval. In the new process it will be the responsibility of the award recipients to ensure the resolution is presented at the next County Board meeting for approval, then they will include the adopted resolution with their request for funds. In addition, a statement will be added to the application that when approved, the requestor is responsible for coordinating the drafting of the resolution with the County Clerk. Review of applications for funds: All requests for funds were reviewed before any decisions were made. Taylor County Recovery Court: Wendy Ness addressed this request with the committee, stating that it will be continued support for the Recovery Court, providing housing and household support and transportation, peer recovery and family support, contingency management, healthy/sober activities and alumni engagement. Request- $22,500.00. Man Therapy: This request for $15,000.00 was approved in July 2024 and the funds were released, but this was not approved at County Board. The resolution will be go to County Board on June 24, 2025 for a total of $20,000.00 the additional $5000.00 is to continue the program for an additional year. Request $20,000.00 ($5,000.00 is a new request). Establish 24/7 drop boxes to protect public health and safety: Melissa Moore addressed the remaining requests. This request is for two new drop box locations at the Taylor County Courthouse, one for sharps and one for medications. Budget-$20,000.00, Request- $10,000.00. Protecting residents from medication misuse with additional disposal options: This request is to expand existing medication disposal alternatives through a partnership with Deterra. Deterra will package and ship medium size medication disposal pouches to higher risk population. Budget-$30,000.00, Request- $15,000.00. Providing support and engaging the community in recovery efforts: Complete an assessment while providing support and technical assistance to existing programs and services offered to the community and explore becoming part of a tri -county affiliate of NAMI (National Association of Mental Illness). The benefits of aligning with NAMI, WI include access to resources, boosting support and links to critical training. Budget -$13,000.00, Request - $6,500.00. Increasing Taylor County’s ability to respond quickly to an overdose with Pulse Point: Pulse Point is a 911 -connected mobile application that alerts CPR -AED-trained individuals that someone is having a cardiac arrest. This will also potentially increase community engagement in the Medical Reserve Corps. Budget -$40,000.00, Request- $20,000.00 as well as $8000.00 annual fee. Moore then explained that she was working with Vital Strategies, a global health organization, and we met their criteria to be eligible for a 1:1 matching grant up to $100,000.00, which is why they were only requesting half of the budget for each request. She will request additional money from Vital Strategies. After much discussion on all the requests, there was a motion by Graff, seconded by Zenner, to approve the request from the Recovery Court for $22,500.00. Motion carried. Motion by Graff, seconded by Zenner, to eliminate the request for Pulse Point as it is not specific to Opioid recovery and prevention. Motion carried. Motion by Zenner, seconded by Knox -Bauer, to approve $5000.00 to purchase the small bags from Deterra and do a smaller, pilot program to determine its effectiveness. Motion carried. Ness then stated that being a part of NAMI would be helpful for recovery court, so she would like to reduce her request to $16,000.00 to allow enough money for both. Motion by Knox - Bauer, seconded by Hartwig, to approve the reduction to $16,000.00 for Recovery Court. Motion carried. Motion by Zenner, seconded by Metz, to approve the request for $6500.00 for completing an assessment while providing support and technical assistance to existing programs and services offered to the community and explore becoming part of a tri -county affiliate of NAMI (National Association of Mental Illness). Motion carried. Motion by Knox -Bauer, seconded by Graff, to approve the request for $10,000.00 for two new drop boxes in Taylor County at the Courthouse, one for sharps and one for medications. Motion carried. Resolution to proclaim June 2025 Men’s Health Awareness month : this was removed as it will be presented to Human Services. Other items from the committee: none. Set the next meeting date: The next meeting will be July 30th at noon. Adjourn: Motion by Zenner, seconded by Graff, to adjourn the meeting at 1:20 p.m. Motion carried. Andria Farrand County Clerk OPIOID SETTLEMENT AD-HOC COMMITTEE Thursday, April 17, 2025 Third Floor Meeting Room Members Present: Jim Metz, Kristi Tlusty, Tracy Hartwig. Members Absent: Chuck Zenner, Judge Ann Knox -Bauer and Suzanne Stanfley, Michelle Cahoon and Kala Thompson. Members via Phone: Courtney Graff Other Attendees: Nicole Hager, Wendy Ness, Jasmin Skerven, and Andria Farrand. Call Meeting to Order: Jim Metz called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. Approve Agenda: Motion by Tlusty, seconded by Hartwig, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Approve the minutes of the September 25, 2024, committee meeting: Motion by Tlusty, seconded by Hartwig, to approve the minutes of the September 25, 2024, committee meeting. Motion carried. Incoming funds: Graff stated the last payment received was the Walgreens Payment 3 in the amount of $ 4,766.17. Allocated funding updates: Man Therapy needs to be added to the next County Board agenda for approval. Review of financial report: Hartwig stated the checkbook balance is $163,550.08, of which $112,166.53 is committed to Human Services, Health Department and Treatment Court projects. Reports due April 21, 2025: Graff asked that anyone that spent money report it to her, so she can complete the report. Other items from the committee: Graff stated there were two additional reports , one only needed to be completed if we spent money on an unapproved use, the other only if we had a dispute. Having neither, the reports were not submitted. Set next meeting date: The next meeting will be at the call of the Chair. Adjourn: Motion by Tlusty, seconded by Hartwig, to adjourn the meeting at 12:18 p.m. Motion carried. Andria Farrand County Clerk