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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1970-10-13 0`�' a: BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING 041 OCTOBER 13 , 1970 The regular meeting of the Board of Health was held Tuesday, October 13 , 1970 at 7 00 P M in the Board of Health Office . Members present were Dr William Cosgrove , Chairman , Mr. James Lambie, Dr Charles Ellicott and Robert Heustis , Director of Public Health The minutes of the September 22, 1970, meeting were ap- proved as read The letter to the Planning Board regarding Drummer Boy Subdivision was read and approved by the Board This letter DRUMMER BOY explained that the Board of Health did not have funds to do SUBDIVISION extensive drainage and flooding studies on any property, and this subdivision could only be approved subject to the ap- proval cf the Department of Public Works and the Town Engineer. Mr. Heustis reported that a complaint had been filed 18 GREENWOOD against Bruce McGee , Trustee of property at 18 Greenwood St , STREET for his failure to connect this property to public sewer as ordered by the Board of Health A re-inspecticn after last Board meeting showea that the h ,use had been rented again. Nr McGee was again contacted and implied he had no intention of connecting this house to public sewer Mr Heustis said he had als - heard that this property was fcr sale and that a buyer was now in the process of passing papers because of this he wondered if the Board wanted to put on record at the Registry of Deeds that a court complaint was pending so that the new buyer would be aware of the problem Dr Cosgrove said he thought we should check with Mr Legro, Town Counsel before any acti-n was taken at the Registry of Deeds The Board agreed and instructed Mr. Heustis to check this situation -ut with Mr Legro. The letter from Jefferson Union Cn , stating that they JE'F1 RSON had taken steps both permanent and temporary to correct the UNION discharging of pollutants into Vine Brook was read by the Board. Mr Heustis said he hadn {t been back to check this situation but hopefully the corrections made would resolve the problem 162 BURLING- The request from Charles D Hufton, 162 Burlington St . , TON STREET rearing a variance to our policy of connecting a house to public sewer when a sentie tank problem arose was discussed by the Board Mr Heustis explained that Mr Hufton would like to add an over-flowing cesspool to his present system rather than connect to public sewer To connect this house to public sewer would /lean coming out of the back of the house, in- stalling a clean out manhole at the side yard and then out kJ 0 to the street This could be a costly installation The Town Engineers have said this system could be gravity fed to public sewer but in some places the pipe would be approximately 12 feet deep. Dr. Cosgrove said he would net grant a variance until he had seen some estimates of the costs to connect this house to public sewer He instructed Mr. Heustis to contact Mr Hufton and ask him to submit to the Board estimates of how much this connection to public sewer would cost as compared to an over- flow cesspool Also, the land for the over-flow cesspool should be checked . The letter from Robert Cataldo, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen , stating that Dunkin Donuts may operate between the DUNKIN hours of 6 00 A M to 11 00 P M was read and placed en file DONUTS Application f r a permit to keep 2 horses by Patricia Goor, 131 Hartwell Avenue was approved by the Board subject 131 HARTWELL to the approval of the owner of the property, McDonald Realty AVENUE Application for a permit to keep 2 horses and 1 colt by John Sellars , 430 Concord Avenue was approved by the Board 430 CONCORD subject to the approval of the abuttcrs AVENUE Application f•)r a permit to keep 2 ponies by Robert Rushton , 24 Marrett Street , was approved by the Board Sub- 24 MARRETT ject to the appr .val of the abutters ROAD The clerk renorted that a sum of $1.,151 had been trans- ferred from the E D account to the Health Department Ex- pense Budget This amount should carry us to December 31 , BUDGET 1970, if we do not have any additional patients admitted to Middlesex County Hospital At 7 4:5 P M Dr. Newman , Donald Tucker and Mary E MYSTIC VALLEY Welch, representatives from the Mystic Valley Mental Health MENTAL HEALTH Association Children ' s Clinic came before the Board to dis- cuss the Clinic ' s 3udget for 1971. The Budget submitted has requested an increase from local tax money from 28¢ per capita to 62per capita Dr C s'rove This increase in your budget request is really quite a shock and I would say that is putting it mildly. Mr Tucker We agree the increase is dramatic, use would like to explain our budget , I have no idea how you would like tc proceed so if yru can lead the way it will be helpful . Dr C sortve When I received this budget I sounded nut the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and the Town Manager as to what the reaction >f the Anpropriation Committee would be to such an increase They both said that as this budget stands n h it would not be accepted , nor would they consider submitting it tc the Appropriation Committee without a lot more information Your increase request is better than a 1001 and yet the report of the services rendered show no sharp increase The Legislature has voted to give you additional funds to hire more professional help , what will this mean to your service to 36 4 a, tT the Town compared with the work done in the past? My oxnerience with the Appropriation Committee has been not just en over-all picture of what you hone to d- but what you Accomplished the previous year, what your service cost ner patient , what percentage of the Town you are servicing This item total patient hours should be broken down to the cost per patient You have an item consultation to community agencies , I would presume that is churches , service organizations , schools and the like What service are you giving here. Are you giving service to the schools and if so are they paying for your service We know they have provisions in their budget fcr psychiatric consultations . If they use this clinic and pay for the service then this would be an over-lap f tax payers money. Mr. Tucker First of all, let me say, our operation in all the communities is to give the best possible ser- vice to the citizens and the community I feel that our service has always been misunderstood, we have always referred to our clinic as "Children ' s Clinic" in reality we work as much with the parents and adults cf a community as we do with the children . I feel there has been a great lack of communication with the community and the clinic. How much drug abuse is there in this community, has the drug abuse committee ever made any overtures to the clinic for help? -I Dr Ellicott The Drug Abuse Committee Funds are in the Selectmen ' s Budget , this Board according to Mr. Legro, Town Counsel , cannot have funds for drug abuse Legally it should be in the Police Budget under Juvenile Section but when we met with the Selectmen we did not want the Police Budget handling the funds , we felt at that time and we still feel that we would not be able to reach the young people if they associated us with the police. The Selectmen set aside funds in their budget under Youth Service tc be used by the Drug Abuse Committee. Before the formal Drug Abuse Committee was formed we did ask for a meeting with Dr Newman but through some misunderstanding we did net get together . I have always felt that this Drug Problem should be handled by Mental Health, but I feel it could not be at your clinic, the drug problem youth will not reach out tr the establishment . I feel that to reach this problem we should have a dirty store front type of place run by young hippie locking people that can communicate with these youths Replace is a start , our Social Worker, who by the way was trained for awhile at your clinic , is doing a good ,;ob. Mr. Tucker The services to the churches and etc have always been free , we are trying to reach out into the com- munity, we would like to help with the drug problem. We also feel that if the school counciling service could identify early behavior problems we could do a better job for the community. Right now we feel that we must give the community a broader look at our services . 365 Dr Cosgrove Did y •u see the article in the Sunday ('rlcbe regarding the funds being set aside for Mental Health Mrs . Welch Yes , they will be running parallel projects . We hope to be working with "Replace" this year. Possibly they would be eligible f r some cf the State funds mentioned, our clinic would not Dr CosgrJve Replace would be given the money? Mrs Welch If they found after investigation that they were eligible . Dr. Cosgrove This item on your budget for nrofessicnal help $70, 915 The appropriation committee will question this , especially in view of the sum of money you are allowed by the State for professional help. Dr. Newman The clinic is maintained on three basic sources of revenue , local tax money, fees collected and the State money for professional help When we hire professional help in order to get the best we le bargain a little . The State salary scale is not high enough to get the best help sc we offer additi nal work time and we pay for that time from the local tax money. The new addional professional help will enable us to broaden our services , but with the additi nal professionals we must ad' additional clerical help Dr Cosgrove We understand what you are doing but you talk in generalities , you must be specific in your facts and figures. What basis you used for your figures in 1970 and 1971 . What more are you going t , offer in 1971 than you offered in 1970. Mrs Welch '1Ge will be extending our service to the com- munity. Dr Cosgr ve You must be specific , what is the program going to be , how many hours ,„il it take , what is the cost per hour? Mrs Welch You do admit that you have a drug problem in this Town , this should be your first concern, 2,4 of the young people in this "tate are on drugs When we treat a young person you usually treat the whole family With the new staff we feel we will reach more families without the waiting period we new have. Dr. Newman This is an expensive service Dr. Ellicott We realize it is en expensive service, but the increase was a shock I realize State funds are not adequate for good help and I can see the increase in professional help would require an increase in clerical help, but not only will the Appropriation Committee want facts , the Town Meeting Members can and will be tough Mrs Welch Do you think we are doing our ,;ob? co 366 c DT Alio -)tt You are delivering the g -,ods tT► 041.4 Mrs Welch But we should have better data Dr Ellicott Yes and you must have a specific program 11project for 1971 Mr Lambie I would say that you must justify your added professional help, I really would question any agency that expands that fast Mr Tucker Would you suggest we prepare fact state- ments for each community instead of an over all picture we have been submitting. Mr. Lambie I would certainly say yes You also say you have an unfulfilled potential but what guarantee do you have that this additional staff will fill this potential as far as Lexington is concerned. Mrs . Welch We realize the increase is great but we feel that the cost to the community will be cheap in the long run if we can stop the vandalism in the schools, etc and stop the drug and emotional problems in the young. With the additional staff we will be able to offer 600 more patient hours In order to keep our clerical staff to had to bring our salary schedule up to within 105 of the State clerical help. We de use volunteer help whenever possible, but their services are limited Dr Cosgrove What is the average fee, how long are the sessions Dr. Newman We have a fee scale according to income , it usually averages out to about $7 50. Sessions range from about 15 minutes to an hour, usually an hour This as T have said is expensive treatment , it is hard to show what is gained in dollars and cents . After further discussion it was agreed that more data would be submitted to the Board and possibly another meeting with Town Manager and Selectmen arranged The following permits were signed by the Board Animal Permits Patricia Gour , 131 Hartwell Avenue - 2 horses John Sellars , 430 Concord Avenue - 2 horses , 1 colt Robert Rushton , 24 Barrett Street - 2 ponies Joseph Russell , 20 Sanderson Road - 1 horse Food Establishment Permits ARA Service, Inc. Bellinols Donut Shop Daniel C Martinez Child Care Centers Lexington Nursery & Kindergarten School, Inc. Meeting was adjourned at 10 00 P M Dorothy Jones, Clerk