By ANDY GARDNER

North Country Now

MASSENA -- Massena’s town councilors are not commenting on whether or not they agree with the town supervisor’s recent handling of the Massena Memorial Hospital Board of Managers.

Over the last few weeks, Town Supervisor Steve O’Shaughnessy did not re-appoint MMH board chair Scott Wilson, who said it was over a difference of opinion on where the hospital is headed. Members of the MMH board have criticized the supervisor for that decision.

Then, after she criticized him in public, O'Shaughnessy fired MMH board chair Sue Bellor. He says the termination was not related to her criticism of his appointing Dr. Michael Maresca to the MMH board, and had been in motion since before that happened, although he couldn't recall exactly when. Bellor said she believed Maresca's appointment represents a conflict of interest because his company, St. Lawrence Radiology, makes money through a contract to provide imaging services at MMH. The supervisor has denied that Bellor’s criticism motivated him to send her a letter of termination two days after she aired her concerns during a public comment period at a Town Council meeting.

During the same December MMH board meeting where Wilson announced he would not be re-appointed, the Board of Managers voted to recommend the hospital affiliate with Crouse/Claxton-Hepburn. No members of the town board have publicly expressed their preference for an affiliate.

Shortly after Bellor was officially fired, O’Shaughnessy said the town board was involved in a discussion about firing her.

“We'd been talking about it way beforehand, the town board," he said Jan. 24, and later said he could not recall when the discussion took place.

Two councilors said they have no recollection of that discussion, and the other two could not be reached.

When contacted by phone on Tuesday, Jan. 29, Councilor Tom Miller said such a discussion would have occurred in executive session, but he couldn’t remember ever talking about it.

“My answer to that is any discussion we have about personnel would be had in executive session,” he said. “I don’t even know if I was in that conversation.”

“I don’t like fighting something like this through the media,” Miller replied when pressed for more details.

When asked if he supported O’Shaughnessy’s decision to fire Bellor, Miller wouldn’t offer an opinion.

“I don’t have a right to (comment). He’s the sole person to appoint and remove people,” Miller said.

Deputy Supervisor Albert Nicola said he also could not recall participating in a discussion about possibly firing Bellor.

“It’s not whether I support it or not. It’s his choice to make. He appoints and terminates if he wants to members of the hospital board without town board approval. It’s been that way forever,” Nicola said.

He sidestepped the question when asked if he supports the decision

“I support his right to make the decision,” Nicola said.

Councilor Melanie Cunningham, a former member of the Board of Managers, and Councilor Sam Carbone did not return phone calls seeking comment.

O’Shaughnessy has said little about his decision to fire Bellor beyond a letter where he laid out his allegations, and prepared statements sent to the press. When asked by phone on Jan. 30 if he had any additional comment on the Bellor controversy, the supervisor said he believes his earlier statements adequately sum up his position.

“The change was prompted by continued poor financial results of the hospital and the needs for a change of leadership,” the supervisor wrote in an announcement sent to members of the press via email earlier this month.

“There should be a sense of urgency to keep Massena Memorial Hospital open and continue to serve the residents of Massena which the town board hasn’t seen. Therefore it is apparent that there is a need for a change in leadership on the board of managers. The hospital has struggled with severe financial difficulties for the past several years, the perseverance of the great employees of the hospital gives me faith that we can continue to stay on course to privatize the hospital, preserve the jobs and continue to have this hospital serve the community,” O’Shaughnessy said in the announcement.

Bellor in a lengthy statement at her hearing refuted the supervisor’s allegations, and hospital officials have disputed his characterization that they are in as bad of a financial position as he describes. They finished 2018 with a loss from operations of about $5.5 million.