Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971-03-02 ti BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING MARCH 2, 1971 The regular meeting of the Board of Health was held Tuesday, 11 March 2 1971 at 7 00 P M it the Health Department Office. Iembers present were Dr William Cosgrove , Chairman Mr James Lambie, Dr. Charles Ellicott and Robert Heustis Director of Public Health Minutes of the February 2 19"1 meeting were Bp-preyed The stabling regulations fL.r the keeping of h. rses were STABLE again discussed and changes and additions made REGULATIONS Mr Lambie suggest=d that Section 6 paragraph "h" b = changed to read a dry well or to provide some other method of drainage acceptable tc the board of health " Section 7 paragraph "d" to read " shall be valid and may be re- newed subject to The proposed additi..n to `vection 6, paragraph "k" was changed to c-mply with zoning, regulations . The following sen- tence was added to Section 7, naragraoh "a" ThJ application shall alsc sh w the location and dimensions of fencing Dr Ellic ,tt said he w uld like to have the fencing regulation made a little more rigid and explicit but after further discussion it was agreed to accent the regulations A motion was mad - end duly passe- t rescind the *0te of the Board med' Ma-ch 2 1970 , which adLpted the stabling regulations as submitted at that time V tion was then mad- and duly passed to adopt the stabling regulations with all chanes additions and corrections which have been made since March 2 1970 The cler'f was instructed to send a cony f then regulations to Town Cnuns l Mr Legro for his final apprevel . Tf Yr Legr- has n ] further changes for these reoulatiens they ar to be printed in the 1-cal raper --nee and a copy sent to Town CIer'" Yr. & Mrs 'error Pars -ns 6ti Allen Street cam before the Beard again to discuss the l^cation -f the fence as re- FAF'SONS � quire' en their rermit t- keep a horse HOR T Pr Pa-sons I really de n''t have much to ado to what we have already said at previous meetings with this f3_ ard. I would like to explain that the area we want t` use is the only level area suitable for a riding ring for my daughter to practice showmanship exercises . The horse would not be in the ring area unless my daughter is riding the horse or unless the horse was tied in that area for short periods of time . The horse is a docile animal and has only gotten loose once I would like to leave the fence line where it is at the present time . I agree with you that the atmosphere in the neighborhood is poor but this area is the only place suitable for a ring and I prom se this Board that this area will be used with discretion As I plan this if the ring is there we will oe giving better protection 384 ther n-)u requLred T agree that the ^ttitude ani the har•rasstr - me-nt with the H akin family is a era thing to live with but 1 - n t see hoc: she ring situated where T wart it will limit the use •Thf the Hopkins nrep-rty Mr Hustis I feel there are many things attributing to the issues in this neighborhood and unless you people over there can come to some compromise you will continue to have problems Mrs . Parsons You people are depriving us the use of our land and harrassing us . Dr Cosgrove You say we are depriving you the use of your land , you both very well know that after the initial hear- ing we had on this permit Mr Lambie and I were not in favor of granting you a permit to keep a horse We did not have just the Hopkins family complaining but we had several other neighbors who objected because of the excess flies and odor Dr Colburn then a member of this Board , said you had the required amount of land therefore he felt we should grant a permit but in view of the objections by the neighbors he felt if we made the location of the fence a condition to the per- mit we would be protecting your neighbors from any health nuisance and still let your daughter en,;oy her horse I say you people have not cooperated with this Board since this permit was granted We gave you the permit in December 1969 and it wasn 't until September or October that you put up any fence fnr this horse That would indicate that this horse has been on your property close to a. year and the conditions of 11+ he permit have not been adhered to Mr. Parsons We got our permit in December 1969, I then had to build a barn sc we left the horse where she was stabled until June when the people moved away I started building the barn and then we went cn vacation to Maine for 3 weeks , so the harse was in the yard I would say about 1 week in June and then some of the time in August while I was working on the barn . I spoke to Mr. Heustis about putting the fence line along the lot line and I also spoke to you, Dr Cosgrove. After our meeting with you in December or January we got a letter stating we had to go back to the original condition of the permit bef-re renewal of our permit in April Dr Cosgrove You admit then that the horse was on your property in violation of your permit . Mr . Parsons The horse was not fenced for a period of 2 months all told Dr . Cosgrove Where does the harrassment come in from this Board Mrs Parsons Your restrictions , di_sp( sing of the manure and fencing Every time we move Hopkins calls Yr Heustis and complains and then he is right oo r there checking un nn us Dr )sgrove That is net harrassmnnt , that is his job He must iov=,stigate overy complaint that c-.mes into this office 885 The handling of the manure is a sten a.rd proce-fur t, ith the is- sua- ( = -f ar s —omit fr r h )r s es Prs Pars ns F ,erytime U d: anything in our yard Hopkins is right there We put the fence straight across to the let line Pr Heustis said it was all right , then Hopkins cemrlains and nov we are notified we hay t: move the fence We ar- being dis- crimiret c against Dr Ellie tt ke issue these permits and exp ct the wners to cooperate s that the animals will not be an enniyance t.) the neighbors Mrs Parsons You People think your Goa. Dr Ellicott All we are asking is that you c{ ( perate with us so that your daughter may enj y her horse. Mrs Parsons W have suffered f ,r 2 years with this thing, my health is being affected by it Dr Ellicott You cannot blame your ill health or this Bard , we have been very reasonable The harrassment you speak of is not a health matter but a civil matter I really don 't think you can blame your ill health on the horse and this Board Mr Lambie Ycur neighbor relations could be the cause of your ill health. The fence line as originally stated was a con- dition of the permit We have pointed out to you time and time again that the location of the fence was a condition to this per- mit because we hal so much objection at the hearing we held. W- felt if we wave you a permit to keep a horse we also had to offer som° protection to the neighbors and that is the only basis we issued this permit Mr Parsons I feel the fence as it is now, with the ring will give better protection to the neighbors We keep a clean yard and I won ' t let the horse graze in this area to- much be- cause of the grass . There is a hedge along the lot line Mr Lambie I feel you and Pr Hopkins will have tr come to a c )mpromise before this thing can be settled Your lot is narrow and that was why the fenc- was set et the angle it was You have room at the back of the lot away from your neighbors as I re- member that was fairly flat. Mr. Parsons It is rocky and there is ledge '-here , she fell there once and the horse fell down the embankment . Mr Lambie Then you really don ' t have the full acreage of usable land Mr. Parsons I have taken some of the rocks out of there but it would be impossible t get it in shape for a ring. Dr. Ellicott You do not seem to realize that the keeping cf a horse on a lot of land in a residential area is a privilege rather then a right I suggest you make peace with your neigh- bors P' rs Fars rs We will n, t make peace T think this Boar' is In with a Realty Trust and you are trying to drive -004 all the horses ut 4f L ;xingt en Dr Cosgrove Now wait a minute we have spent mor- time with ycu people than anybody else . 1'e have over 100 horses in Lexington new and other than you people we have no trouble with them. If we have an occassional complaint of manure or an excess of flies in the area we check it out and after Mr Heustis speaks to the owners things are cleaned up. You people are the only ones who are nut satisfied with the conditions of your permit. Mrs Parsons You have driven many people cut of Lex- ington because of their horses I know because it has hap- pened t my friends Dr. Cosgrove You are referring to McElmar ' s Now you know the McElmans had no right to spread manure on the ground and leave it . If I remember correctly McElmans were part of the problem when this permit was granted , that is why this Board was sn careful when we issued this permit The fly and odor complaints and the horse getting lcese all had to be considered. McFlmans did not help your situatirn any. Mrs Parsons There was the Rosas ' they went to New Hampshire. Dr Cosgrove We could not grant them a permit , they did not have any land They wanted to take a part f the garage right next to their house and make a stall in it for the horse They did nct have a yard as wide as this room for the horse Mrs Parsons You keep talking ab ut flies do you imply we are dirty We have flies , they come from Carrell ' s Farm but we don ' t run down here complaining, we spray. Dr Cosgrove At your hearing we had one woman say she caught a ug full of flies in less than a week, another said they could mit use their back dor because -f the flies Mrs Parsons We keep a clean place Hopkins calls the police every time we turn a^ and I didn ' t call the n :lice when holes were punched in 2 of our canoes Dr. Cosgrove I.e have told you that these things are a civil matter not a health matter Flies are a health matter. I say ycu should stay with our original ruling on the fence Dr. Ellicott You must realize you can not create a nuisance in the neiahborheud T suggest you make peace with your neighbors Mrs Parsers We will not compromise What is your decision Dr Cosgrove Yeu will get it . Mrs Parsons H w long before we hear from you last time 9 / we waited a month My health is breaking now, I car ' t stand this waiting Dr Fllic_tt You will have to wait for a decision Mr Hopkins has the wei�*ht of law Mr Parsons It is very hard waiting and checking the mail each day I hope you can see that we get a decision as soon as possible. Mrs Persc.ns to Mr Parsons What do you think, I won ' t accept a compromise Dr Coslr•ove We have offered y )u many suggestions on how to make this thing work, but I feel no matter what decision we make y -u will not accept it You had that Hermit a wh )1e year and you knew what the conditions were and yet y u did not come to this Hoard once during that year Mr Parsons I came when we g t ready to rut up the fence. Dr Cosgrove You had no right to have the horse there at all until the fence was put up Ve could get very technical and revoke your Hermit Trs Parsons You people don ' t want horses in Iexingtcn, you make it very hard for anyone to have a horse We have the required acreage Ar Lambie Dimensions of 104- lines neighbors and many other factors enter into the granting of a permit ti keep a horse. We cannot group them together just because they have the required acreage We have suggested you use the land up in the back and you say it is not suitable for riding there- fore we can assume you in not have the required acreage of usable land Mr Parsons There was one other thing you stated we had to keep the manure in closed containers and cart it away Last summer I dug a h le and put the manure in that , would that be all right Mr. Heustis We do accept alternate plans for the hand- ling of the manure providing they do not create a nuisance. A manure pit must be covered and treated. Mr Parsons You will let us know of your decision in a couple of days , it is hard waiting. Mrs Parsons looking directly at Dr Cosgrove When you send this letter I 'want you to sign it so you cannot deny writing it or knowing about it Dr. Cosgrove You will get your letter , but I still feel you people should make a compromise 388 Mrs Parsons I will not make a compromise When we get your decision , depending on what it is you might hear from my attorney Mr & Mrs Parsons retired After Yr & Mrs Parsons retired the Board discussed this matter of the fence line for Parsons ' horse, Dr Cosgrove Well Gentlemen, I don ' t know how you feel but as far as I am concerned those people will not make any compromise. They want it their way and that is it Dr Ellicott and Mr Lambie agreed but the Board thought if they could sug~est a fair fence line the concerned parties might come to some agreement Dr Ellicott If we suggested that they nut the fence line in such a way that at no point would the fence be less than 100 feet from 'he Hopkins dwelling. I would think that would give them more space. Mr Lambie Let us look at the plot plan The certified plot plan was checked and a line drawn to show where 100 feet from the Hopkins dwelling would 1e. Mr. Lamoie If these people could compromise on a fence line similar to this ( indicating on plot plan ) I would think that would be enough space to give them *he riding ring they want Dr . Ellicott They really should come to some agreement themselves. Dr . Cosgrove Are we aareed that we suggest to each party that they try to make a compromise and suggest that if the fence is opt 100 feet from the Hopkins dwelling and both parties agree this Board will be satisfied We ' ll send a letter to the Parsons with these suggestions and send a copy of that letter to the Hupkins family I feel we have bo -n very r- asonable with these people and now it shuld be up to them r"Y3TIC Mrs Mary Welch, Executive Director of Mystic Valley 7ULLEY Mental Health Clinic dropped int the meetin and asked the MENTAL L _yard i " she could have a few minutes t . discuss the budget 1771111TH again . fiTTn(1,77 Dr "nsgrcve said the Bard c uld give her a few minutes but it was late and the Board still had a full agenda rs '. el.e.h explaire that she hod talked to i r Perry, Comptroller and hac given him financial information that he seemed to accent 7 idently this in"crmaticr .;id nLt net t : r O' C mno7l , Town J' anao. r bef•re the meeting with Clinic leers nnrl and the Selectmen Mrs Welch left a cony of this iof rmati n for th- Boar'' 389 She explained that at the end of 1970 the Clinic was using some of their savings m-ney paid by rtenlace and other assets not paid bv the Towr to meet their budget Mrs . Welch said she would explain anything the Board did not understand abodt the services at the Clinic Dr. Ellicott said he felt that the hours spent in Staff consultation sh 'uld not be billed to the Towns in his (pinion this was overhead expense He also, said that when any hospital or clinic used trainees it was an expensive service A trainee can interview patients end then he must go back to the professional for consultation I feel this service is necessary but it is expensive and using trainees can be inefficient Mrs. Welch said we have to interview families separately A disturbed chid will net talk to anyone if he or she feels the person is also seeking one of his parents Dr Cesgrov^ said he felt X33 dollars per hour was ex- ponsiv2 also we have no way of knowing- how many hours a person is seen by a professional or a trainee or whether they are seen by a psychiatrist , psychrlgist or a social worker all this could make a difference in the , ver-all picture 0r th clinic Mrs 'J<elch said if the Board ww uld take all the pr fessicnal hours spent _n each patient and break it down they wculd see that ' the service was niy costing '9 81 per patient Dr C_sgrove said this clinic has requested more m:ney from the Towns each year I should think you would reach a plateau and start stabelizing instead you seem to be accelerating You have a creat deal of help for the numb r of patients You keep speaking of working with the schools , now we know Lexington has a number of trained psychologists in the schools , the school budget also has 33 thousand dollars set aside for psychiatric consultation. 'he Drug Abuse Committee has 10 thousand dollars and out of that they nay McMannus . Replace has just received a grant of 10 thousand dollars and then your increased budget makes it quite a sum for the tax payers tc pay for mental health Mr Lambie said maybe we should have a committee to study this problem. Mrs Welch again cited individual cases being treated at the clinic and also talked about the out patient care for Metropolitan State Hospital patients She said she did not think that Dr Pllicctt or Dr Cosgrove believed ton much in the work beim dm- at the Clinic Dr Cosgrcae and Dr P:llicctt said they did feel there was good beim d-ne at the clinic but they also felt there was a great deal of help fcr the number of patients treated and that the costs should be studied very carefully. After further discussion Mrs Welch retired and the B and again discussed the amount of money requested by the Clinic for 1971 CO tr Dr C sero- said he was in fa - r staying with the same VC em. unt as lest year which was $C739 He said he c uld lot gree t the ` 17, 870 dollars requested . T would really like tr stay with last years figure and let the Tnwn Meeting Yen- hers take it from there Dr Ellicott said he was in favor of recommending abut $12 , 000 dollars which would allow for a cost of livirg raise and also pay f-r aldit -nal staff hours . Mr Lambi said he did not knew how effective the Clinic was and he agreed that it was an expensive service but he did not feel that he wanted to cut the budget request this year He askei to see the copies cf the letters on the other Board or HL:elth from the surroun.zing towns using the clinic Dr r serove pointed rut that the letters Mrs Tr etch filed with us are from Boards of Health not the finance committees or apprJpri_atL n committees of the Towns , therefore, there is nn pro f that the other towns will give them the full amount they are asking for After my meeting with the selectmen I w:uld say neither the selectmen or the appropriation com- mittee will go along with the full amount . Mr Lambie said we could not prove that the clinic was being run inefficiently and he did not want to do anything t - destroy the organization He said he would recommend the full amount but with strings attached such as payment be made c m tingent nn the audit and the services rendered by explained in more detail Ho went on to say that this year e better understanding should be developed with the clinic 30 that another year we would clearly understand what was needed. After further discussion the clerk was instructed to notify the Selectmen that a majority vote of the Board recommended a sum of S12 000 be submitted to Town Meeting for Article 27 It was pointed out that T wn Meeting could increase this amount by taking action on the floor The Board agreed tc hold a public hearing Parch 16 1971 for the 611 additional units to be built by the Chalet CHALET Susse , Inc , at 440 Bedford Street , Mr Heustis said the SUSSE1 plans for the restaurant had also been submitted for ap- pr -val but the restaurant did not require a public hearing Dr Cosgrove instructed Mr Heustis to check with Town Engineer to make sure the pumping station on 128 will be able to handle the added amount of sewage from this addition also with this addition if it will be able to handle the addition of Drummer Boy Subdivisitn The questionnaire on Family Planning was shown to the FAMILY Board so they would be aware that Federal Funds were available PLANNINGT Per this program. GRANT Dr Ellicott said he was sure the L V N A had received this questionnaire t o, 1 The edjertisement f"r an emergency Cardio-Alert System was shown to th- Board Nr Heustis said he wondered if the Bear CARDTO- was inter sted in checking with a civic rganizatien t " see if ALH.dT they might be int _rested it installing this system in the am- bulance. Dr. Ellicott said before any actin was taken it would be best to check with Chief Spellman Symmes Hospital and Pt Auburn Hospital because the system would not be of any use unless the hospitals were equipped to receive the data from this machine Yr Heustis said he had received plans for the now h 'using HO SING for the elderly and he would like permissi -n to hay,- Mr Lucas FOB from Whitman & Howard Inc check the plans . Permission was ELDERLY granted . The ci rk irformed the Board that this year because of the RABIES building pr-gram the Rabies Clinic would be held at the Central CLINIC Fire Station Mr Heustis reported that the State Health Department had refused permission to the Town to burn the demolition material CENTRAL from the Central Block at the Tewn Sanitary Land Fill The BLOC material will bP taken to the Land Fill but it will have to be REFUSE covered and n -t burnt . Dr . Ellicott asked about commercial refuse depc.ts Yr. Heustis explained that the Tcwn ByLaws state that the Town must provide a place for the disposal cf househeld and commercial rubbish in the Town , therefore the Town is responsible The copy of the letter to the Sheraton Motor Inn frem the SHERATON State Health Department regarding the pr ximity mf the sewage YOTOR INN overflow at the Tnn to the Cambridge water supply was read and placed on file Yr Heustis explained that the manager at the Inn was watching this nrnblem very carefully and permanent repairs hill be made as son as the weather nermits The license for the Greoler Day Care Center was not signed TREDI.ER by the B ar.d R Heustis was instructed t• check this Jay Car DAY CABE Cent'r with Mr Irvin 3uilling "nspecter , to s if th sat'ety C7NT:n, r repairs that her r.'rted no a pr vi us insn ,cti 'n hao b "'n ma'' " The I,,tter 'rem Reverend hall requesting a r -ducti( n f th ATTIC fee fmr a F Ld 'stablishmeni P mit ha reduc ._ fl m D25 , 0 vas discussed it was ami ed th At r,i.c shr ula be class-.a as a soda fountain and they f r ; the fe f [ 00 sh uld be char? 1. The apnlic-:oi n to keep h rse at ;4 Robins 'n o ad was tabled until th atutt yrs won cheeped HCFAl ' rPE R.'[I T ThF clerk r,rtPd that the FxpersP Budget for the health Department had beer cut by "'y39?C Than s areas f 11.^"s BUDGET