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Lexington Board of Health Meeting, Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. Town Office Building, Room G-15, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA Board of Health Attendees: Wendy Heiger-Bernays, Chair; John J. Flynn, Sharon MacKenzie; Bert Perlmutter, M.D. Health Department Attendees: Gerard F. Cody, Health Director; Ann Belliveau, Health Clerk/Office Manager Wendy Heiger-Bernays called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Board reviewed the minutes of October 10, 2012. Perlmutter motioned to approve the minutes with corrections. Flynn seconded. All approved. Community Health Update/Report – The Board reviewed the Community Health Report for October 2012 prepared by David Neylon, R.N., and follow-ups for the seven (7) communicable diseases had been done in a timely manner. Cody advised the Board that thth from October 10 through December 5, 2385 individuals have been vaccinated for influenza.. Tobacco Control – Cody introduced Matt Reynolds, Lexington High School Junior, to the Board who presented a proposal to raise the age that cigarettes can be purchased in Lexington from 18 to 19. Matt observes students under the age of 18, purchasing cigarettes from older students. He supposes that if the age was changed to 19, those students would have graduated and would not be available to sell to the younger students. Matt also reported that in a recent survey 19% of the students reported having tried smoking, 80% of all smokers began smoking before the age of 18. So far in Mass, 4 Boards of Health have increased the age for purchasing cigarettes. Needham was the first town in Massachusetts to raise the age at which cigarettes could be purchased to 19. Needham has since raised the age to 21 and most recently, Brookline, Watertown and Belmont have raised the age from 18 to 19. After a discussion, the Board would like to gather information from other towns such as Brookline to see how they measure the impact of this change before moving forward. Cody stated that the Mass Tobacco Control Program is not in favor of these changes because it would be a contradiction between the State Law and local regulations for enforcement purposes. Environmental Health Report 15 Oxford Street – Cody reminded the Board that back in June, the Health Department received a complaint concerning the smoke in the area. Cody and Neylon observed a large wood pile as well as a chipper. A consultant has been monitoring the area for wood smoke but to date the findings are inconclusive but, of course, it is early in the season. A building permit for the wood stove was issued to this address in 2000. The Board would like to continue monitoring the area. 11 Lizbeth St. – Cody informed the Board of a demolition of a home that what started out to be a roof repair turned into being a demo because the house was in such disrepair. The problem was that they did not notify anyone and did not obtain the proper demolition permit. The neighbors were very upset about the condition of the property. Jay Flynn informed the Board that MassDEP issued the final, approved regulations for the Anaerobic Digester permitting in November 2012. The approved regulations cite; MassDEP 310CMR 16.00: Regulations for Solid Waste Management Facililty Site Assignment and Recycling, Composting, and Conversion Permitting.