Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1973-09-10483 Mr. Lambie said he would be more assured if the State Con- servation Commission would evaluate the present permit, and give an opinion on the new grades requested. Mr. Lambie went on to say that he felt the Board should have something in writing to justify the mild agony this project will cause the neighbors in this area. Mr. Cataldo said he would get everything to the Board as soon as possible. He thanked the Board and retired. The following permits were signed by the Board: Swimming Pool Battle Green Motor Inn Food Establishment Permits Alexander's Pizza House Peking Gardens Restaurant Summer Co-op Program Animal Permits Roger Trudeau - one additional horse for Ralph Gerenz William F. Mason, Jr. - one pony Joseph P. Kelley - ten horses Meeting adjourned at 9:30 P.M. Dorothy Jones, Clerk BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING SEPTEMBER 10, 1973 The regular meeting of the Board of Health was held Monday, September 10, 1973 at 7:00 P.M. in the Conference Room G 15 of the Town Office Building. Members present were: Dr. William L. Cosgrove, Chairman, Mr. James Lambie, Dr. Charles Ellicott and Robert C. Heustis, Director of Public Health. The minutes of the July 9, 1973 meeting were approved as typed. CATALDO The draft of regulations for the operation of Cataldo Farm FARM Land reclamation program was discussed. Mr. Lambie said he would LAND like to have a plan on file showing cross sections of the operation RECLAMA and all other pertinent information. Other suggestions were made TION by the Board and Mr. Heustis was instructed, to complete the regulations for approval at the next Board of Health meeting. At 7:30 p.m. Mr. John DeVries, owner of the Battle Green Inn and Drummer Boy Restaurant came before the Board to discuss BATTLE the repeated violations to the State Sanitary Code, Article X GREEN & and the unsanitary conditions at the Battle Green Inn and DRUMMER Drummer Boy Restaurant. Also appearing with Mr. DeVries was BOY Mr. James Lenahan, Manager of these establishments and Mr. Anthony Caliendo, attorney for Mr. DeVries. 484 Dr. Cosgrove: You have been requested to appear before this Board to let us know what you are going to do regarding the violation notices you have received from Mr. Heustis, Director of Public Health. Mr. Heustis read the following into the records: The letter of complaint from the 2 young ladies from Florida re- garding the unsanitary condition of the room they were assigned at the Battle Green Inn on August 14, 1973; the letter from the Chamber of Commerce regarding the unsanitary conditions at the Battle Green Inn dated August 21, 1973; the violation notice from the Health Department regarding the unsatisfactory conditions found at the time on an inspection by the Health Director dated August 30, 1973; the violation notice regard- ing the Drummer Boy Restaurant dated August 14, 1973 and the violation notice for Battle Green Inn, Drummer Boy Restaurant dated August 30, 1973. Mr. Heustis: Now Mr. DeVries when are you going to make these corrections? Mr. DeVries: Anything in the past that you have pointed out we have taken care of. I bought this place about 6 years ago and because I did not know anything about the hotel business I have had to hre managers to run the place. When they tell me something has to be done I tell them to go a- head and get it fixed. I first saw your report on August 14, 1973 and you spoke of a new dish washer. I have had a man from Economic Laboratory out and he has found that the spray nozzles in the dish washer was caked over and an arm had snapped off which was causing the problems with the dish washer. This has been fixed so I see no need for a new dish washer. The hot water booster you asked for is in Boston right now and will be picked up and installed right away. We also found that when the oil burners, I have three and they control the hot water, were serviced two of them were turned off which cut the hot water supply by two-thirds. Also there were two valves that were shut off and they had something to do with the hot water. With these all operating now the supply of the hot water is good now. Dr. Cosgrove: Is the dish washer working okay now? Mr. Heustis: Article X states that these things must be maintained at all times. It seems to me that I have to point out all the repairs or violations every time I do an inspection. Does that mean that you are ignorant of Article X? Mr. DeVries: I hire a general manager for those things. So yes, I suppose you could say I am ignorant of Article X. Mr. Heustis: You have to be aware of these`blit s. You can't depend on me to come over and "spoon feed" you all the time. If you can't do these things then my only alternative is to close you up. Four times in the past year I have gone in and stripped the tables of dishes or silverware just before lunch time. I have spoken to you about the walk-in chest down stairs. The food uncovered, the condensation dripping onto the food and then uncovered food being sent up in the dumb waiter. This is all very poor procedure. I have asked for a new dish washer with all automatic controls, now I say I want 1 r 1 485 a new walk-in freezer. Mr. DeVries: I told you I have corrected the problem with the dish washer. Mr. Heustis: I told you I am tired of the mess I see in that walk in chest, the garbage and rubbish not being taken care of properly. That chef you have is still operating in street clothes, I have told you many times that all kitchen personnel must be in uniforms and the girls must wear hair restraints. You go over all the points of Article X and you will see all the things you are suppose to do. You do not have a good operation. Mr. DeVries: I never meant to violate any laws. I have a general manager for these things. Dr. Cosgrove: Do you operate the restaurant as part of the motel or is it on concession? Mr. DeVries: We operate the restaurant as part of the motel. The lunch service is about 50% town people and the dinner service is 90% guests or residents of the motel. Mr. Heustis: I asked for more refrigeration. Why hasn't this been done? Mr. DeVries: I have had a new box put in. Mr. Heustis: I am not going to approve that walk in chest anymore. I want a new chest in there. Mr. DeVries: That has been checked by the service man and it is working okay. Mr. Heustis: How about using that dumb waiter to transport food from the garage to the kitchen? Mr. DeVries: The regulations say the deep freeze can be only 15 feet from the kitchen that is how far our walk-in chest is now. Mr. Heustis: That's right but as of right now that walk-in freezer of yours is out. Dr. Cosgrove: You say Mr. DeVries you have made necessary corrections to the dish washer? Mr. Heustis: I asked for a new dish washer and I'm going to ge one in there or I won't approve that kitchen. Mr. DeVries: When the dish washer wasn't functioning properly we were not aware of it. Now it has been fixed and tested. The valves being turned off did not help any. Mr. Heustis: The breaking down of equipment is a cycle with you and it will just repeat itself. I want a new dish washer in there and I want a new walk-in freezer. Mr. DeVries: That is a drastic expenditure you are talking about, now that these things are fixed and operating properly I 486 wish you would come back and check them again. Mr. Heustis: No, I am not going back again. Mr. DeVries: I have corrected things in accordance with Article X. cr tr 1 Mr. Caliendo: According to Article X, Section 6.5, equipment installed and in use prior to the adoption of Article X may be used as long as it is in good repair. My client is not willfully violating any laws but the nature of this business makes it very hard to keep everything 100% at all times. There are financial limitations to any business. He took over the permits and equipment when he bought the business 6 years ago. Mr. Heustis: These permits are not transferable, it is your responsibility to give the public good clean food and lodgings and it is our responsibility to see that this food is served free from contamination. Mr. Caliendo: The things you are requesting could ruin this man financially. Broken equipment can happen to anyone, you can't fault him for that. You should have a knowledge of what he has put into this place since the first of the year, he has installed new rugs in the dining room and the stairway, replaced the shelves in the refrigerator as he was told. Mr. Heustis: I shouldn't go in there and find things not operating properly. Mr. to these Mr. shape up care of. Caliendo: Mr. DeVries has a manager, he should see things. DeVries: I have told Mr Lenaghan if these things don't he will be replaced. I thought everything was taken Mr. Heustis: You should have a workable knowledge of Article X. Mr. DeVries: I have a general manager and that is his responsibility. He is supposed to run things in the proper way. If he had come to me and told me about these things we would have taken care of them. I usually just go in to check on things and sign the pay roll. Mr. Heustis: You should go over all those dinner plates and throw out all the cracked and chipped plates. Mr. Caliendo: You mention hoods and fans must be cleaned. Mr. DeVries has a man under contract to come in and clean these once a month. Mr. DeVries: I have a bill for the last cleaning which was August 7th, if you want them done more I'll have him come out twice a month. Mr. Lambie: I question if this place is being managed properly. 1 1 4 `jf Mr. DeVries: You ask for a new deep freeze, you are talking 8, 10, or 15 thousand dollars. That box is working well, there should be no condensation. I put new shelves in it as you re- quested, a new compressor and motors, the box is tight and work- ing well. Mr. Caliendo: The law provides that all laws be reasonable. Also interpertation of the law is something we could use right now. We could ask "What is clean?" Mr. Heustis: They are supposed to know what is clean. Mr. Lenahan: The kitchen has been cleaned and painted and the floor done. The refrigerators were done inside and out, there is nothing in the kitchen that shouldn't be there. The chefs are in uniform and the girl's quarters have been set up away from the kitchen and dining area. Dr. Cosgrove: When did you do all that? Mr. Lenahan: It has been done. Mr. Heustis: It wasn't done Friday when I was there. Mr. DeVries: We have dumped everything out that is not being used. Mr. Heustis: I'm tired of these repeated violations of the State Sanitary Code. The code allows for some leniency but these repeated violations raises the question whether this operation should be shut down or not. Mr. Caliendo: The dish washer came into the last inspection. I should think if you could give Mr. DeVries some guidance to get these things done it would help. Mr. Heustis: That is why he has a general manager. I rec- ommended that the water pressure on the machine be tested before. If you had an automatic dish washer when there was a break or not enough pressure there would be a red light come on. You would not depend on manual checking. Do you agree that you have been granted a fair and just hear- ing on Article X? Mr. DeVries: I have bills with me to prove that I have made repairs. Mr. Caliendo: Will this Board accept these bills as proof he has been replacing equipment? Dr. Cosgrove: I think we have discussed this restaurant business long enough. You see if you can come up with a plan of work to Mr. Heustis' satisfaction and then we will talk again. Mr. Heustis: Mr. DeVries do you agree you have been granted a just and fair hearing under Article X of the State Sanitary Code? Mr. DeVries: Yes 488 Dr. Cosgrove: Now let us get on to the motel. This is not good. It looks like the same old thing, equipment out and is not replaced. Mr. Heustis what have you found inspections of the motel? report wears in your Mr. Heustis: The letter from the two ladies from Florida indicated that conditions were unsanitary and the room had not been properly cleaned. I did an inspection of the rooms and found worn out pillow cases and sheets, the seats on the chairs were torn and held together with scotch tape. The carpets were worn and dusty, tiles were off the stall showers and there was dust all over the place. It just showed lack of good house- keeping. Mr. DeVries: The young girls from Florida were given a room that had not been cleaned, a weekly person had been in the room and had left that day. The room should have been posted on the board in the lobby that it had not been cleaned and then not given out that night. Linen in the rooms that are rented by the week are only changed twice a week. That room should not have been used again until it had been thoroughly cleaned. The motel is divided into two sections, the old section of about 50 rooms has residents for a month or year and we have different rates. The other sec- tion is for tourists. I do over completely 15 to 20 rooms a year, paint furniture, new drapes, spreads and replace anything that needs replacing. This is an automatic maintenance program but I have to hire outside people to do this work. It takes about 3 days to do this. C,a cr 1 Dr. Cosgrove: Did you see this letter from Florida? It certainly is not good. Mr. DeVries: I never knew about it until all this has come up. I did check it out after I heard about it. The desk was not notified that the room had not been cleaned. When it was discovered the girls were asked to move to another room and they said they were too tired. Mr. Heustis: Chapter 140, Section 32B, of the General Laws states that all motel rooms must be cleaned and in good repair. This letter from these girls states that the ice bucket was being reused. There was an ice bucket under the air conditioner catch- ing dripping water and the rug was moldy. What about the state- ment that allgy was going in the tub? Mr. DeVries: That is not true. I checked this myself, as I explained before this room should not have been rented. Mr. Heustis: Are you calling these people liars? Mr. DeVries: We have good management andd housekeepers. These girls were asked if they would move to another room. Mr. Heustis: I went into Room 128, is that the older section? It had a re -used ice bucket, you took exception to my statement that the ice buckets were unclean and re -used. Mr. DeVries: The ice buckets are bought by the cartons. The maid could have slipped up. 1 1 4S Mr. Heustis: From what I saw all the paint needs re -doing. there is no reason for us to wait 2 years while you do 15 or 20 rooms a year. Mr. DeVries: This is a continual process of cleaning and painting. Mr. Heustis: The varnish was off the chairs and the up- holtery was dirty and torn. Mr. DeVries: All the chairs were re -done 3 years ago. Mr. Caliendo: This can still be an interpertation of what is clean. He has a big investment in this place and they must compete with the big chain places like Holiday Inn or Howard Johnson. I feel that any occasion the rooms could be found un- satisfactory but these things happen. People rent the rooms and break the lamps, etc., this is beyond anyone's control. Mr. Heustis: I am talking about dirt, along the molding there was dirt that did not just come there, this was an accumula- tion of dirt over a period of time. You don't have to be an in- spector to see these things. We agree rooms get dusty, but when they are dirty they should not be offered to the public. The Board of Health should not be put into the position of an in- spector. These rooms are in a deplorable condition. Mr. DeVries: We have our own laundry and the sheets are the same all over the motel, the non -iron type. The bedding has the wide black stripes so of course this shows through the pillow cases. Mr. Heustis: Hotels are rated A, B or C. Your place is just not acceptable for guests to be using. Dr. Cosgrove: You have heard all these complaints why don't you come up with a plan that will take care of these conditions for a good long time. I should think you could give us a plan of work in about 10 days. Mr. DeVries: Mr. Heustis can you work with me? Mr. Heustis: I won't "spoon feed" you. Mr. DeVries: If I met with you we could over the rooms and you could tell me what has to be done. Mr. Heustis: I don't have time to go over every room. Mr. DeVries: I am trying to satisfy you, what might be ac- ceptable to one inspector might not satisfy you. I want to live up to the Codes. Mr. Heustis: You should have your own standards. Dr. Cosgrove: No question you are a smart business man to get this far. You should have your own standards for this business and live up to them. I feel you should come up with a plan of work to take care of all these things. I'm sure Mr. Heustis will be reasonable. 490 Mr. Heustis to Mr. DeVries: You understand the initiative c" has not shifted to me. n' )414 Mr. DeVries: I would like you to work with me. This business is my life, I have a quarter of a million dollars invested here. Dr. Cosgrove: To protect that investment I advise you to get to work. Mr. DeVries: May I make an appointment with Mr.,Heustis and he can go over the rooms with me and say, "Look John, you need new drapes here, new rugs, just a good general go around".. Y'm just asking for help. Dr. Cosgrove: You call Mr. Heustis and make an appoint- ment with him to survey your situation over there and then come up with a work plan so that this place can be straight- ened out. Mr. DeVries, Mr. Caliendo and Mr. Lenahan thanked the Board and retired at 9:20 p.m. The Board discussed the conditions at the Battle Green Inn and Drummer Boy Restaurant and instructed Mr. Heustis to make a survey with Mr. DeVries and then report to the Board. They told Mr. Heustis to be firm about getting this place cleaned but he must not be unreasonable. The annual flu clinic for Town employees was discussed FLU CLINIC by the Board. It was agreed that the vaccine will be offered to the elderly age 65 or over. Dr. Ellicott said we should give both the bi-valient and mono-valient as the State has directed. Dr. Ellicott instructed Mr. Heustis to confer with Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel, regarding the coverage of the L.V.N.A. at our clinics if they give the shots without a doctor in attendance. There will be no fee for this clinic. Dr. Cosgrove said he dropped into the Well Elderly Clinic at Greeley Village and thought things were going very well. There will be two clinics each week to start one at Vynebrook Village and the other at Greeley Village. Dr. Ellicott said he had been asked if the Town would be having any clinics for Measles or German Measles. Mr. Heustis said the State was taking a survey of children entering school to determine what the immunization level is. This survey should indicate if there is a need for more clinics. The Mason -McDonald hearing is scheduled for September 19, 1973 at 1 p.m. Mr. Heustis will check to see if the whole Board need attend. The preliminary expense budget was given to the Board for further study. 1 1 1