SALEM – The board of health’s meeting Wednesday came to a premature end due to the lack of a quorum.

Board Member Bill Wilkins, who has served on the board since 2019, resigned his position effective immediately on Oct. 9 in the wake of a medical emergency experienced by a family member. With his seat vacated and two other board members, Newt McKnight and Susan Albert, unable to attend, the board lacked the quorum required to act upon anything discussed in the meeting.

While the board could have still discussed its agenda items without acting Board President Pro-Tempore Judy Sicillia and Board Member Cami Cope agreed that doing so without the other board members present would be counterintuitive and agreed to instead reschedule the board’s October meeting for sometime “in the next few weeks,” with the exact date yet to be determined.

Among the items set to be discussed Wednesday was a request from the legal representatives of Mark Courtney to have a housing violation issued for one of his rental properties at 637 Columbia St. for lack of proper roof drainage dismissed. Courtney owns multiple rental units in the city and is involved in an ongoing case challenging the legality of the city’s occupancy license applications, fees and inspection requirements in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division.

Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey said that as the board was unable to act on the request, it would need to be continued at a subsequent meeting when the board had a quorum and apologized for the delay.

Courtney’s Attorney Lawrence Stacey II argued that previous appeals had been dismissed without board approval, which Health Commissioner Kayla Crowl disputed, and Dickey reiterated that the board could not act on the issue.

Dickey asked Sicilia and Cope for suggestions of possible candidates to fill Wilkins’ vacant seat, noting that she wanted the board to be involved in selecting its new member. Dickey also suggested the board discuss possibly updating its attendance policy.