City-county health board has problems with attendance

The Amarillo Bi-City County Board of Health held its quarterly meeting this week and one board member was noticeably absent.
Actually, it wasn’t too noticeable since he hardly ever attends meetings.
Dr. J. Taylor Carlisle has only attended 26 of the 73 board meetings since his appointment, according to the minutes from the latest meeting. The physician at the Amarillo Diagnostic Clinic barely attends one in three meetings.
What’s the point?
To be fair to Carlisle, the board rarely votes on matters. It listens to city staff members of five departments (public health, environmental health, the health authority, animal control and the city’s office of Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children – better known as the WIC Program) give updates on city business.
The seven-member board sometimes has trouble drawing a quorum of four.
The Potter County Commissioners Court appoints two of the board’s members. Carlisle is one.
Randall County and the city of Amarillo each point two. The city of Canyon appoints one.
I’ve attended nearly 10 of these meetings since coming to Amarillo, probably more than Carlisle and most members in that time.
This board serves little function to city and county operations in Amarillo. It’s mainly a formality.
However, it could provide more oversight of five very important city departments. But how is that possible when members like Carlisle don’t care enough to attend formal meetings once every three months?