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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-01-18-BOH-min RECEIVED 2022 22 IPIb, d S Ipim LEXINGTON BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING MINUTES I""OWN CLERK Tuesday, January 18, 2022 6:30 pm Conducted by Remote Participation LEXINGTON Approved February 15, 2022 Board of Health Members in Attendance: Wendy Heiger-Bernays Chair, PhD, Burt Perlmutter, M.D., John "Jay" Flynn, J.D., Susan Wolf- Fordham, J.D. MPA Board of Health Member Absent: David Geller, M.D Select Board (Liaison): Doug Lucente (Absent) Office of Public Health Attendees: Joanne Belanger, RN, Public Health Director, Alicia McCartin, Assistant Health Director, Siqing Pan, Department Assistant Documents: Temporary tight tank Variances Request Letter Draft Fee Schedule Signage of Mask Mandate Order (Updated January 11, 2022) Staff Appointment on January, 2022 Tobacco Control report on November and December, 2021 Environmental Health Report Community Health Report Letter to Lexington Resident on inspection Meeting Called to Order: Board of Health meeting of January 18,2022 was called to order by Chair Wendy Heiger-Bernays at 6:32 pm. Minutes Approval-Roll Call Vote The minutes were still under review, and will be ready for next meeting. Open Forum (2 minutes per person, state your name and address) None Tobacco Control Update—November and December Report A Motion was made by Dr. Perlmutter to move Tobacco Control Report discussion out of order and ahead of variance request. Seconded by Mr. Flynn. All in favor. Unanimously moved. The Board reviewed Tobacco Control Collaborative Reports of November and December, 2021 from Ian Worstell, who serves as Tobacco Control Program coordinator/agent in Wilmington, Lexington,Bedford and Concord to make sure Lexington is consistent with the other communities, and with the state regulations. Ms. Belanger stated the tobacco inspections has been resumed. Ms. McCartin had contacted Mr. Worstell to follow up the inspections. Dr. Heiger-Bernays stated 1 Bluemoon Smoke Shop at Lexington should have preventive information of state tobacco regulations, and Ms. McCartin confirmed it. Dr. Heiger-Bernays also stated a follow up inspection will be required to go through tobacco retail and delivery devices. Dr. Perlmutter inquired the compliance checks on tobacco store. Ms. Wolf-Fordham also suggested a re-inspection of Bluemoon Smoke Shop later. Dr. Heiger-Bernays made a motion to accept the reports as prepared. Mr. Flynn seconded. Roll call vote: Ms. Wolf-Fordham—Yes, Dr. Perlmutter—Yes, Mr. Flynn—Yes, Dr. Heiger -Bernays-Yes. Motion carried 4 to 0. All in favor. Unanimously moved. Variance request; 310 CMR 15 and Article XII 155-86A: On-Site Sewage Disposal Systems Temporary tight tank is requested during construction of 5 Hartwell Place parking structure Paul Finger, from Paul Finger Associates, presented the proposal of temporary tight tank request on Hartwell Place. The period of temporary variance was scheduled for 18-24 months. Mr. Flynn inquired about the capacity of this tight tank and overfill risk because of drain collections. Mr. Finger stated the sizing information has been submitted and reviewed regarding sizing but also separation between roof drainage and interior drainage. A pump is required when there will be a heavy rain storm. This will require a plumbing permit and an inspection of the tight tank. Dr. Heiger-Bernays asked where is the water coming from that is flowing into tight tank, and is this water contaminated with petroleum. She also asked who is pumping the water and where does it go. Mr. Finger answered the water will be from floor drain within parking structure and it is possibly contaminated with petroleum. A number of companies maintain gas and oil separators, and other devices, for use on site and for catch basins. They will dispose of the water in a licensed facility which will handle the minor amounts of petroleum products. Ms. Belanger clarified the minimum inspection frequency of pumping. The tank will be inspected and pumped at a minimum of once a month, or as required. Once the sanitary sewer is installed in the new proposed site, the pump chamber will be connected to the sanitary sewer system and no longer used as a tight tank. She also requested variance expiration time because it is a temporary tight tank. Dr. Perlmutter made a motion to grant the variants for a time period between 18 to 24 months. Ms.Wolf-Fordham seconded.Roll call vote: Dr. Perlmutter—Yes,Mr. Flynn—Yes, Ms. Wolf-Fordham — Yes, Dr. Heiger -Bernays - Yes. Motion carried 4 to 0. All in favor. Unanimously moved. Review of draft Fee Schedule Updates Alan Perry described the draft fee schedule updates. The fees have not been updated since 2009. Dr. Heiger-Bernays inquired about the permit information for beaver trapping. Ms. Belanger briefly explained the process for a beaver trapping permit. 2 Dr. Perlmutter clarified that the proposed fees are now for a facility rather than by animal. Mr. Perry stated the proposed fees will be now based on whether private facility or commercial facility. Dr. Heiger-Bernays stated she did not want to put anything in laboratory animal permits until the work had been done to establish the animal care regulations for laboratories in Lexington. Dr. Heiger-Bernays clarified the applicant of a new Body Art establishment needs to first apply for a new establishment plan review. She also asked would the applicant also need to pay for a body art establishment permit? Mr. Perry stated the fee of the first year would be $350, which would include the plan review and annual permit. Ms. Wolf-Fordham asked a question about wading pool where it may include sprinklers for kids. Ms. Belanger stated it does not need to be permitted because it is a portable water source that then it gets drained directly and it's not recycled. Mr. Flynn questioned on the late permit fee and non-compliance inspection fee. Mr. Perry stated the first inspection would be"no charge" because the establishment should then be in compliance and the matter is resolved. For a non-compliance inspection or second or more re-inspections, a non-compliance inspection fee would be charged. Ms. Wolf-Fordham questioned Food Risk Category 4 - what does it mean regarding special populations and variance approved procedures. Mr. Perry stated that examples of a Category 4 food risk — which is high risk procedures — were provided in the parentheses. One example is Sushi which can be raw or undercooked. Or sushi rice, or other food production processes, which may need specific plan reviews called HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control point) plans and/or variances. The wording of "special populations" as an example could mean an establishment that needed to prepare specialized foods for a specific high-risk group. They may need specialized equipment for example. Ms. Wolf-Fordham expressed concerns about using that wording as an example in the document so Ms. Belanger agreed to remove it. Ms. McCartin stated annual tobacco permits renew date is no later than January, 31st, and food permits renewal expiration date is March 31st. Pools and camps renews start around April in springtime. Dr. Heiger-Bernays suggested February 1st be the effective date for all new applications. Dr. Perlmutter made a motion to accept the new fee schedule as proposed, effective on February 11t with the removal of the one item that was causing confusion. Mr. Flynn seconded. Roll call vote: Ms. Wolf-Fordham — Yes, Dr. Perlmutter — Yes, Mr. Flynn — Yes, Dr. Heiger -Bernays-Yes. Motion carried 4 to 0. All in favor. Unanimously moved. Update on Staff and Appointment of Staff as Agents Ms. Belanger provided the update on staff and appointment of staff as agents of the BOH. The Board had a lengthy discussion on this topic and the question of emergency versus routine appointment. Dr. Heiger-Bernays suggested table this conversation, and Mr. Flynn and Ms. 3 Belanger continue to do some research on it. She also suggested to revisit it when the Board's questions could be answered as to whether this appointment is necessary for routine inspection and enforcement, or whether it's already inherent in the employment of staff. She advised bringing it back for discussion at the next meeting. Dr. Perlmutter made a motion to table this discussion. Dr. Heiger -Bernays seconded. Roll call vote: Ms. Wolf-Fordham — Yes, Mr. Flynn — Yes, Dr. Perlmutter — Yes, Dr. Heiger - Bernays-Yes. Motion carried 4 to 0. All in favor. Unanimously moved. Lexington Mask Mandate Discussion Ms. Belanger provided the new signage of mask mandate order. She stated the signage had been listed on the Town's website and is printable by businesses. The QR code on signage will show the full content of mask mandate order. The printed signage will be available at the Town Offices and through the Economic Development Department at the Visitors Center. Health Staff Reports Ms. Belanger briefly described the reports provided by Ms. McCartin and Mr. Neylon. Ms. McCartin explained the format of her report and added a narrative at the end. She stated the critical and non-critical violations were highlighted with red(criticals) and blue(non-criticals)colors. Ms. Belanger reported on her attendance at MAVEN trainings, Mass Health Officers training, and the Public Health Emergency Preparedness -Region 4AB meetings. She also described her attendance at the Select Board meeting and the Budget meeting. She stated the Health Office received support from the Select Board on COVID initiatives going forward, like testing. She reported that all appointment spots at a COVID testing event scheduled on January 17Th were fully booked. Results showed 226 tests were done and 25 of the tested people were COVID positive. She also stated there will be six more testing events scheduled for six Saturdays in a row, starting the 291h and going to the 5 I of March. This schedule will include the Saturday at the end of February break, so anyone who wants to can test before they go back to work or school. The test results should be available for Monday morning. She also stated the Health Office has also done a lot of work looking for test kits and masks, as supported by Select Board. She also updated COVID data that there were 359 new cases since January 13Th, so the total cumulative number as of January 18th was 3127. Ms. Belanger complimented Ms. McCartin's hard-work on compiling the COVID data and keeping the dashboard updated. She also updated if school districts opt in to test kits programs, families will get test kits through schools. She also provided full-time permanent public health nurse and health agent recruiting information which has been posted in Town's website. She also explained the influenza is still here, because some people were tested negative by an antigen or PCR test,but they had symptoms. She reinforced the statement: -please stay home if you are sick. New/Old Business Ms. Belanger provided a housing inspection follow-up letter. Dr. Heiger-Bernays made a motion to end the meeting. Motion carried. All in favor. 4