Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1969-07-07Mr. Rooney: I feel this is a problem of being thing in the first place, by that I mean, the units pails located in the front to start with the people to mind at all. It seems to me to be just the ones re -locating that are causing the concern. Mr. Russian: If the pails were in the back then they would be under the bedroom windows so that would be a health issue too. Again we would have the problem of snow removal in the winter. Mr. Heustis: If the garbage is put into plastic bags or waxed garbage bags before being put into the pail should cut down on the odor and flies. Also if someone is delegated to wash the pail every week when they are emptied would help. The Authority could also provide a clean plastic liner for each pail each week and then this would help a great deal. Mr. Russian: These plastic liners could be an expense item. I certainly would not want to see this program spoiled by unsightly garbage pails but I feel that the plantings will take care of that. used to a that had the don't seem that we are After further discussion Dr. Colburn said:: There is a certain amount of disagreement both with our guests, the Housing Authority and this Board, may I suggest the Board of Health suspend this order for a period of time. We then could see how this present arrange- ment works. Mr. Russian: I think that is a splendid idea, and as you have stated you are concerned with the health problem not ;the esthetic problem. Dr. Cosgrove: The Board of Health is willing to grant a 6 week trial period to see what happens, however, we do reserve the right to take action before the end of this 6 week period if it is necessary in the interest of public health. Mr. Russian: That is agreeable to this Authority, I am sure, we feel a 6 week trial period is fair. Gentlemen we thank you. Meeting was adjourned at 6:15 P.M. The regular July 7, 1969, at present were Dr. Mr. James Lambie BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING JULY 7, 1969 meeting of the Board of Health was held Monday, 7:00 P.M. in the Board of Health Office. Members William Cosgrove, Chairman, Dr. Charles Colburn, and Robert Heustis, Director of Public Health. Minutes of the June 2, 1969 Meeting were approved as read and also the minutes of the Administrative Hearing on Lot 14 Carriage Drive was approved. Mrs. Frederick Hopwood, 172 Burlington Street, came before the Board for a hearing on the order issued after the June 2 Meet- ing ordering her to remove the horses from her premises by HOPWOOD HORSES 2`16 cc or July 11, 1969. Mr. Heustis explained to the Board that Mrs. Hopwood wanted the names of people making complaints regarding the conditions on her property, this was not the policy of the Board to give out these names. He continued to explain that the decision not to renew this permit was based on the conditions he had noted at the time of his inspection. The grain was in open bags which would draw rats, the manure was stock piled and there was evidence of a number of rat holes in the barn which would indicate that there were a number of rat harborages in and around the barn. Dr. Cosgrove: ¥rs. Hopwood, you requested this hearing to appeal the Boards decision to revoke your permit to keep these horses. What do you have to say for yourself? Mrs. Horwood: I think I should explain what we have done since we received this letter. The grain has been put into metal containers and the manure has been spread. Dr. Cosgrove: Mr. Heustis says there is evidence of rats in the barn, what about that? Mrs. Hopwood: Most barns have rats but a decon program is carried out, and we have always had decon around plus we do have 4 cats which help the rat problem pretty well. I feel that this has created tension in the neighborhood. When people complain I feel that a person has a right to know who is doing the complain- ing. I don't know how anyone could complain about our barn un- less they were in the yard when no one was home, you cannot see the barn or pasture from the street. Our lot is 600 feet long with a 125 foot frontage. The grain was not in the metal containers when Mr. Heustis was there but has since been put into the containers. 1 agree that this should be done as soon as the grain is delivered, we buy our grain in 100 lb. bags because it is cheaper that way and with 3 animals it makes sense to purchase it in quantity. Dr. Cosgrove: How long have you had the horses, and have there been complaints before? Mrs. Hopwood: We have had horses for 13 years. Yes, we did have a neighbor who complained, yes, we haver had complaints before. Mr. Hopwood arrived at this time and the hearing continued. Mr. Hopwood: The first time we have had complaints, and I want to say I have had legal advise and I intend to get the names of the people making this complaint. My lawyer says it is my right to know. You people are always so quick to jump on people with horses, I think it is time the horse owners in this Town had a meeting with your board and straighten these things out. Mr. Heustis: Mrs. Hopwood you said the manure had been spread that is, of course, against our regulations. We say it should be kept in air tight containers and then removed from the premises. If it is spread it should be plowed under. The manure itself is a breeding place for flies and there is particles of grain in the manure which the rats will feed off. 1 1 1 277 Mr. Hopwood: That is ridiculour, you people sit in judgement and know nothing about the correct way to handle the manure. Horse manure when spread has no odor. It seems to me it is better for the kids to be working with these horses than hanging around the center of Town all hopped -up on dope. You just don't know what is going on. Everyone in Town that has horses are receiving per- sonal property taxes on everything, the barn, saddles, horses and bridles, someone elso like Mrs. Jones, can have diamonds and fur coats and are never taxed. One thing I intend to find out is who is stirring up this thing. Dr. Cosgrove: You are asking this Board to give you names, well we can't and won't, we don't know the names and this was not done on a complaint. This permit was acted upon on the advise of Mr. Heustis our Health Officer who saw the conditions in the barn when he made a routine inspection. The taxes are something we have nothing to do with but we are very much concerned with the condition of the barn. Mr. Hopwood: I agree the barn should be kept in proper order and the manure handled in the best way possible. Almost any farmer will tell you that nanure should be spread, not only that but this stuff is not easy to get. We spread it on the lawn and in the pasture. I can name you places in Town where the manure is stock piled and they are not called on it, why is it just us. Dr. Cosgrove: It is not just you, we take one case at a time. All people are given the same consideration by this Board. Mr. Hopwood: Everyone with horses stock -piles the manure, during the winter it has to be handled that way. It is spread in the Spring and I can't see that it causes any problem with flies or rats. Mr. Heustis: The stock -piling or spreading, if not plowed under, will still be a breeding place for flies and a food har- borage for rats. It is our policy to have manure cleaned up every week. Mr. Hopwood: Your policy seems to only to pertain to us. Dr. Cosgrove: You are wrong, we have had any number of cases where we have made people clean the manure off the property weekly. Our policy is to let people have these animals for their enjoyment as long as it does not create a nuisance or prevent other people from enjoying their property. Dr. Foley is one, he was stock- piling and was ordered to clean it up, now he trucks the manure out periodically. Mr. Heustis: In a residential area you cannot spread manure and leave it. There is an odor to manure unless it is plowed under. Mr. Hopwood: We are not near other people, our barn is located so that it does not affect the neighbors. Also the neighbors come to us for manure for their use. Dr. Colburn: I think we are getting away from the point here, the problem was the condition of the barn according to Mr. Heustis report. The barn was not clean, the grain was not stored properly t.Y and there was definite evidence of rats. Mr. Hopwood: We use de -con as any person would around a barn like ours. The rats come from the grain spillage. Mr. Heustis: The M.S.C.P.A. received a complaint about the condition of the animals. Dr. Cosgrove: Did you find the animals in good condition? Mr. Heustis: Yes, they were in good condition. Mr. Hopwood: You people don't know what you are talking about. You; just try to make it tough for people. Here we have something to keep the kids off the street and you don't care about the kids. You take the word of someone making complaints and that is all you know. Dr. Colburn: We are not taking the word of anyone making a complaint. Our action is based on Mr. Heustis' report only. The general condition of the barn is what we based our action on. Dr. Cosgrove: It is not our policy to take action on annonymous complaints. We are acting on the advise of our Health Officer so lets get that straightened out once and for all. Mr. Hopwood: Mr. Heustis knows who made these complaints and I intend to find out. It is not the complaints we are going by. Mr. Hopwood: There is a difference in manure. I couldn't run a piggery in the neighborhood and spread the manure. I think this manure from the horses should be put to good use. Dr. Cosgrove: I think we have enough information to act on this problem. The Board will discuss this hearing and let you know our decision. you? Mrs. Hopwood: How long will it be before we hear from Dr. Cosgrove: About a week. Mr. & Mrs. Hopwood retired. The Board started to discuss this problem and Mr. Hopwood returned. Mr. Hopwood: I want to say to this Board that I resent the Health Officer discussing this problem with my 11 year or 13 year old boys. Mrs. Hopwood and I are divorced but I have a business address in Town and my wife works and can be reached at her office. In the future we would both prefer to be contacted at our business offices than having the children upset. Mr. Hopwood again retired. Dr. Colburn: It seems to me that Mrs. Hopwood indicated that most of the things cited in the letter had been corrected. 1 1 I wonder if the Board would issue a probationery permit and see how things work out. I feel that until our Regulations really spell out what a farm is and what we want done with the manure, etc. we have to go a little slow. Dr. Cosgrove: That is right, we should get something concrete for these permits. I will go along with a probationery permit and Mr. Heustis you will follow this up with a periodic inspections and. we will see what happens. Mr. Lambie: That is agreeable to me. Dr. Cosgrove: Mr. Heustis, you notify Mrs. Hopwood that this permit will be issued on a probationery basis, the period of time to be set by ycu. Make sure you keep your eye on the operation .so that this nuisance is corrected and kept in the proper manner. The Letter from Putham & Putham, attorneys for Mr. Donald LOT #14 Corey, Thomas O'Keefe,Jr., and Charles Price abuttors to Lot CARRIAGE #14 Carriage Drive was read by the Board. DRIVE This letter stated that the abuttors had serious reser- vations about the plan as submitted by Mr. Cahill's engineer because of the ground water in the area. The attorneys requested that before an occupancy permit was issued the Board of Health insist that a catch basin be installed on the easterly corner of the lot, and also a trench be dug along the easterly boundry of the lot several feet deep and this trench be filled with crushed stone and a preforated pipe laid so that this would drain into the catch basin. Mr. Heustis explained to the Board that the Town has refused to install the catch basin originally talked about. Mr. McSweeney the Town Engineer, said this was not a Town problem, therefore, they could not touch it. The alternate plan of bringing the swail around and to the front will be used unless the Board wanted to insist the builder install this drain and catch basin. Dr. Cosgrove: We agreed at our last meeting that a plan for this system should be submitted to this office and placed on file. This plan was also to be checked by Mr. Lucas of Whitman & Howard and we would accept the report of Mr. Lucas. Mr. Lucas did approve this plan and I think that is all that we can do. Mr. Lambie: Mr. Lucas, at that meeting, did feel that the swail was adequate, I feel that is all we have to have. Dr. Colburn: This Board does not have the authority to make a builder install a storm drain when the engineer in our employ feels another plan will work. I feel that as long as Whitman & Howard says the plan on file is adequate that is all we need. Dr. Cosgrove: They want us to guarantee everything on Carriage Drive. We have certainly done everything we should on this and I have no intention of goilg any further on it. I want a letter written to these attorneys telling them that the plan as filed has been approved by our engineer and we have no authority over the occupancy permit if the sanitary system is installed in accordance with this plan. Our engineer says this system will 280 work properly and will not affect these other homes so that is it. The letter to Joseph F. Burke, Superintendent of Public Works, OLD RES recommending that a gate valve and overflow weir be installed to replace the open connecting pipe between the small inlet impoundment pond and large water impoundment pond at the "Old Res? was read by the Board. Mr. Heustis reported that he had met with Mr. Cortell and Mr. Wenham and they find that the Springs which were supposed to fill this area were negligible and the brook water at the dry time of year could be impounded in the small pond until the silt`etc had settled before going into the larger pond. This area will have to depend on 100% rain water and filling with M.D.C. water. Mr. Lambie said most of the water for the Res comes from the brooks on Spring Street and the surrounding area, won't this gate valve increase the amount the Town will have to draw from the M.D.C. line? Mr. Heustis said the retention on the run off water in the small pond will help defray the use of the Town water because the Spring water can be retained there and the gate-Openedita fill the larger pond. Res. Mr. Lambie said in other words the Spring run-off fills the Mr. Heustis, Yes that is right. ANNUAL The reply to Mr. Robert Cataldo, Chairman of the Board of REPORT Selectmen, regarding the format of the Annual Report was approved. The Board agreed that until the questions asked in this letter were answered there was nothing that could be done. NEW The letter regarding the inadequate office space in the OFFICE proposed addition for the Town Office Building was placed on file. SPACE The letter to John Delahunt, Jr. Vice President of Operations Inc. was read by the Board. BRIGHAM"S Mr. Heustis explained that a complaint had been made by a resident who had eaten at Buttrick's Sandwich Shop. He had stated that the utensils were dirty, the personel had no hair restraints on and the glasses had food on the side. An inspection was made and the complaint verified, also there was spilled ice cream on the back platform. He went on to say he met Mr. Delahunt the next day and pointed out these violations. Dr. Cosgrove asked if a reply had been received to this letter. Mr. Heustis said No, but Mr. Delahunt had assured him the violations would be corrected. Dr. Cosgrove said he felt that common courtesy would indicate that a reply to this letter was necessary. He instructed Mr. Heustis to write to Brigham's and request something in writing regarding these establishments a program of operations to assure the Board that they will keep these places clean in the future. C9" 00,0 1 1 1 281 Dr. Cosgrove went on to say that everyday someone is coming to me complaining about the eating places in Town, in fact, I think the only place that is clean is Anthonyts. This Board has not tolerated this before and I will not tolerate it now. I have in my office now silverware taken from Brigham's that was put out for customers and this silverware is dirty. I don't think there is any need of that. Dr. Colburn agreed that these places must be cleaned and asked what steps should be taken by the Board to see that the code is com- plied with. Dr. Cosgrove said, Well, I suggest we send a letter by registered mail to each eating establishment in Town stating that these places must be cleaned up and kept clean if this is not done then we as the Board of Health will take further steps. Dr. Cosgrove instructed Mr. Heustis that after this letter goes out he is to make inspections of all the eating establishments to make sure they have complied with the codes. Mr. Heustis asked if the Board wanted him to shut down the places that had not complied with the letter. Dr. Cosgrove said No we will give them a chance for a hearing but I think we will have to get tough with them. The letter to Pewter Pot Management Corp. was read by the Board. Mr. Heustis explained that he had received complaints about the way the butter was served in the open buckets at the Pewter Pot. He also said that the cream served in individual pitchers was not too good because it was hard to clean the pitchers properly. He went on to say he had talked to Mr. Sullivan, the manager, about the butter service because so many people complain that the children lick the knives and then put them back into the butter. bucket. Dr. Cosgrove noted that no letter had been received in answer to this. He again said he thought we should have an answer with the plans to correct this situation from the Pewter Pot Management. Mr. Heustis said that Mr. Brucchi spoke to him about his application to keep 50+ rabbits which had been denied by the Board at the last meeting. He said Mr. Brucchi told him he didn't expect to get permission to keep 50 rabbits but thought the Board would allow him at least 25. He also pointed out that according to the regulations he could keep up to 10 without a permit. Mr. Heustis said Mr. Brucchi says he has a buck and 2 does right now. The Board said Brucchi was right he did not need a permit until he had 10 rabbits. They asked how many was in a litter. Mr. Heustis said Mr. Brucchi said 14 but Dr. Smith said the average litter ran about 8. The Board instructed Mr. Heustis to keep an eye on this in case Mr. Brucchi exceeded the 10 he would have to get a permit. 131 WOBURN ST, The letter to Mrs. Elizabeth Orso, 131 Woburn Street, re- garding the rubbish on her property was approved by the Board. 282 IVAN ST. The letter to Mr. George M. Bilafer regarding the open excavation on a lot owned by him on Ivan Street was approved by the Board. Mr. Heustis said he had given Mr. Bilafer until July 15th to fill this in. The standing water in this excavation hole was creating a nuisance and public health hazard. LOW & Mr. Heustis explained that the Federal Government had MODERATE approved the funds for a moderate to low cost housing for COST Lexington. This program has been certified until May 1, 1970 HOUSING and in order to be re -certified the Town will have to have in operation at least 6 months prior to this date a systematic housing code enforcement program. Dr. Cosgrove said there had been no money set aside for any part time inspectors and I would suggest that a letter be written to the Planning Board suggesting each Town Meeting Member be assigned so many houses in his precinct and they can check them out. This way the program could be re -certified and the Town would not be spending 4 to 5 dollars an hour for part-time i_._. inspectors. Dr. Cosgrove said from reading the code as near as I can determine if a house has heat, lights and water it is okay. Mr. Heustis said he would take exception to that because there were reports to be filled out and corrective action taken. Dr. Cosgrove said he qould be willing to bet that if 5 thousand houses were inspected in a 6 month period in Lexington they would find nothing wrong with them. He went on to say I did not agree with this program after the meeting with the Planning Board and I have yet to find out what is considered low to moderate cost housing. Until the planning Board can come up with something definite on this program I am against the Town spending any money on it. Dr. Colburn said this is a fine idea, the Planning Board whips ahead and gets this program approved and then dumps it into another departments lap with no definite plans to operate on. I object to this because there has been no approval by the people of this program. Mrs. Jones reported that Mrs. O'Brien had sold her DOCTOR''S Answering Service to a Mrs. Quill in Winchester, none of the EMERGENCY customers were notified of this change and when the telephone SERVICE bill came in with an additional 3 dollar charge it was checked out. The extra 3 dollars is the charge for the line which is now in Winchester. It is agreed that it is a small increase but Mrs. Jones felt that a notice of this change of service should have been sent. Dr. Colburn asked how much this service was used. Mrs. Jones said she did not know, she had never been able to find out. Dr. Cosgrove said he felt that the police and fire de- partment use this service and they should be contacted to see 1 1 how much this is used or if the people in need of a doctor are calling them direct. Dr. Colburn and Mr. Lambie said they never knew this service existed. Dr. Cosgrove said we have had this service for years if it is used we will buy ads in the paper every once in awhile so more people will know of it. BURIAL OF The Clerk also brought up the problem of the Burial of ANIMALS Animals. She asked what the money was originally intended for. Dr. Cosgrove said for the dogs and cats killed in the streets. Mrs. Jones said as she understood it now a public works em- ployee does this work during his daily work. He has been picking up squirrels, skunks. rabbits and etc, in fact, a bill was rendered for the badly decomposed carcass of what was thought to be a pig which had come down the sewer drain from Burlington. This she thought was going a bit too far. The Board instructed Mr. Heustis to check this out with Mr. Burke and find out if cleaning these animals up off the street was part of the daily work for Public Works. If it is then they felt it was not necessary that they be paid by this department, but if these animals were picked up in off hours or on the weekend then that was a different matter. Mr. Heustis said he had been up to the Lexington Golf Club FOOD and noticed that they had a snack bar but there had been no PERMIT permits issued to this club for food establishment or milk. This is a private club does the Board want to require a license for it, and if this is done should not the churches and private organizations in Town that serve food be licensed also. Dr. Cosgrove said they should be licensed. Send the appli- cations to Mr. Manning he will take care of the Lexington Golf Club. The other places should be done if they serve food and if it is required by the Sanitary Code. The Clerk reported that she had been receiving an increase in rat complaints and felt the Board should be aware of this. Mr. Heustis agreed there was more rat complaints. He cited complaints from East Lexington and North Lexington and said they seem to be scattered around the Town. The Clerk suggested that possible newspaper articles now and again would make people aware of the situation and possible include steps the homeowner could take to help control this problem. Mr. Heustis said some of the problem could be because the brooks were not cleaned out on a systematic basis. He thought if Mr. Burke was notified of this a program could be set-up. Also Mr. Armstrong of the Mosquito Control Program could do some of this work in his program. 284 WINTER STREET It was explained that these 3 houses on Winter Street were on small 50 foot lots and the cesspools and septic tanks now serving these houses had been repaired so much that there was nothing more that could be done. The sewage problem of the 3 houses beyond Morris Street on Winter Street was brought to the attention of the Board. Dr. Cosgrove said he felt a letter to the Selectmen explaining the situation and requesting that this problem be given immediate attention. He continued to state that we have always had cooperation in the past and he would imagine that we would have it now. BANKS Mr. Heustis said the same problem existed on Mr. King's AVE. property on Banks Avenue, the public sewer is less than 200 feet away, but this is an unaccepted Street and although a petition had been filed for 2 years nothing had been done about it, Dr. Cosgrove said he would also suggest that this be brought to the Selectmen's attention. The sewage problems at 11 Wingate Road and 11 Cooke Road WINGATE was discussed by the Board. & COOKE ROAD Mr. Heustis explained that Mr. Cough1 in had talked with the Town Engineer to see if the sewer could be brought through the property to the rear of his home but as yet nothing had been agreed upon. Mrs. Cicero, 11 Cooke Road, feels that their system was installed wrong and she requested all the reports on file in this office. She claimed the lot did not have a percolation test done on it, but a letter signed by Mr. Lawrence Kraynick of Whitman & Howard approved this lot. The Board felt that no action was necessary on these two lots at the present time. The Flu Clinic which is conducted annually for Town Em - FLU ployees was discussed by the Board. The clerk had an article CLINIC received from the United States Public Health Department which states that there would be only sporadic cases of influenza due to A2 strain and Type B Influenza may appear in areas where it did not occur in 1968. This bulletin also stated that until a good protection is provided consistently by influenza vaccine it is not recommended for healthy adults and children. The Board asked how many of the Town Employees took ad- vantage of this clinic. It reported that approximately 300 shots or less were given in 2 clinics. The Board voted that a notice be sent to all Town Departments stating that this clinic will not be held this year and those employees who felt they should have this vaccine could obtain it from their private physicians. ANIMAL A draft of the proposed revisions for Chapter VII, Keeping PERMITS of Animals, was given to each Board member. It was suggested 1 1