Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971-09-07412 ANIMAL PERMIT DAY CARE CENTER BAPTIST CHURCH GREDLER READING SCHOOL D . Ellicott said he would lik, to rocomm�nd that anyone working for th Town and handling dead animals be instructed to take the precaution of wearing, disposable gloves and they should a.iso b, given the innoculations for leptospirosis, a disease you can get from dead animals that have eaten rodents. He suggested that Mr. Heustis check with Dr. Smith about this innoculation. Meeting was adjourned at 9:30 P.M. BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING SEPTEMBER 7, 1971 The regular meeting of the Board of Health was held Tues- day, September 7, 1971 at 7:00 P.M. in the Board of Health Office. Members present were: Dr. William L. Cosgrove, Chair- man; Mr. James Lambie, Dr. Charles Ellicott and Robert Heustis, Director of Public Health. The minutes of the July 6, 1971 meeting were approved as submitted. The application for a permit to keep 2 goats by Francis Smith, 49 No. Hancock Street, was discussed by the Board. The permit application indicated that the 2 goats would be housed in Lexington for a period from mid-November to the end of March. Mr. Heustis said he had made a site inspection of the area where the goats would be housed and found it satisfactory. The abuttors were notified by post card and all but one, a Mrs. Weaver, 45 No. Hancock St., had no objection to the goats as long as they were housed properly and the area kept clean. The Board voted to grant Francis Smith permission to keep 2 goats from November 1 to April 1, 1972, provided the goats were properly housed and the area kept clean. Mr. Heustis was instructed to notify Mr. Smith of the conditions of this permit. The application for a permit to conduct a Day Care Center at the First Baptist Church by Mrs. Ester D. Hamilton of Som- erville was discussed by the Board. Mr. Heustis explained that the Children's Center would be conducted all day and was primarily for the working mother. Mrs. Hamilton and her staff meet all the State requirements to conduct a Day Care Center. Application for a permit to conduct The Children's Cen- ter in Lexington was approved by the Board. The application for a permit to conduct a Reading School for 5 and 6 year old children by Mrs. Charles Gredler, 119 Bur- lington Street was discussed; by the Board. Onisl 1 1 1 In the school year 1970-1971, Mrs. Gredler was requested to make a few corrections to her home to meet the safety re- quirements of a Day Care Center. Mr. Heustis reported that an inspection by Mr. Irwin, Building Inspector, showed the cor- rections made. The Board of Appeals have approved this application provided no more than 12 children be present at any one time and that at least one teacher and one assistant be present. The Board voted to approve the application of Mrs. Gredler for a Reading School provided that no more than 12 children are present at any one time with one teacher and one adult pre- sent. This stipulation to be typed on the permit as a condition of operation. The application for a permit to keep 2 ponies by Edward Fitzgerald, 31 James Street, was again discussed by the Board. FITZGERALD Mr. Heustis explained that in June a complaint of the ANIMAL ponies getting loose was investigated and Mr. Fitzgerald was PERMIT ordered to remove the ponies from his premises because he did not have a permit from the Board of Health. Mr. Fitzgerald came into the office and made application for a permit. The abuttors were contacted and 8 abuttors re- plied, 3 objected to the keeping of ponies, and 5 said they had no objection. Mr. Fitzgerald was told at the time he made application to keep the ponies, that it was necessary to have 2 acres of land. He said at that time he had approximately 11 acres. He was told that if he could make arrangements with one of his neighbors to use some of their land to make up the 2 acres he could submit a written agreement to the Board, to date we have not heard from Mr. Fitzgerald. NOTE: 9-8-71 I checked with the Assessors, Mr. Fitzgerald has a house lot of 20,720 sq. feet and a lot abutting his property owned by his Mother of 20,720 sq. feet making a total of 41,440 square feet or approximately 1 acre of land. Mr. Heustis said he could not approve the granting of this permit because at the time of his inspection the property was very poorly maintained and the ponies were not kept inside the enclosure properly. In view of Mr. Heustis report and also the fact that Mr. Fitzgerald does not have 2 acres of land as required by the Board of Health Regulations it was the Board's decision to deny this application for a permit to keep 2 ponies at 31 James Street, Lexington, Mass. The Board agreed that Mr. Fitzgerald would be given 30 days to make new arrangements for the ponies. Mr. Heustis was instructed to notify Mr. Fitzgerald of the Board's decision. 414 CARROLL BROTHERS c. ycM1i^+ r=yxy The application for a permit to pick-up garbage by Carroll Brothers was discussed. Mr. Heustis explained that Carroll Brothers has one stop in Town at Dunkin Donuts to pick-up stale donuts. The Board approved this application, but Mr. Heustis said he wondered if this should be discussed with Mr. 0/ Connell, Town Manager, because of the garbage contract the Town has with Roketenetz,:Inc. The Board said that if Mr. Heustis wished he could discuss this with Mr. O'Connell but they felt that if Dunkin Konuts wanted to pay for a garbage collection instead of using the Town service that was their perogative. Mr. Heustis also reported that he had received a complaint regarding the odor and condition of the barnyard at Carroll Brothers. An inspection showed that the barnyard was in very poor sanitary condition, with an abundance of flies, manure improperly handled, barnyard had very poor drainage and there was an area of stagnant water. At the time of the inspection there were 8 beef cattle, 3 calves, 3 or 4 horses and 40 chickens. The permit filed in April was for 6 cows, 2 horses and 40 chickens. Mr. Carroll has requested an increase to 15 cows. The Carrolls have 50 acres of land more or less, this increase was approved by the Board. Mr. Heustis was instructed to write to the Carroll Brothers instructing them to correct the unsanitary conditions in the barnyard and also to correct the drainage problem. Mr. Heustis reported that the Flu Clinic for Town Em- ployees was all set to go. He asked Dr. Ellicott about Booster FLU CLINIC Shots or a full series. RABIES VACCINE Dr. Ellicott said if people did not have the vaccine last year they should have 2 doses this year for adequate immunity. Dr. Ellicott will also work this Clinic. Mr. Heustis reported that Dr. Smith has obtained Rabies Vaccine and recommends that an immunization series be given to the Town Employees that handle the dogs or any of the dead animals picked up on the streets. This would include Frank Belcastro, Dog Officer and Kenneth Kelley, Department of Public Works. Dr. Ellicott said he thought this was a very good idea and if these men wished he would be glad to administer this vaccine. He did say he still felt that immunization against leptrosperosis was indicated and he was going to check this further. Dr. Ellicott said he strongly felt that these men picking up dead animals should be supplied with either disposable plastic gloves or even plastic baggies that they could put over their hands before touching the animals. Mr. Heustis explained the Emergency Employment Act, he said 1 1 415 he indicated on a survey report that the Health Department could use a sanitarian, health education person for the schools, or a non-professional salvage man at the Sanitary Land Fill. Dr. Cosgrove said he felt that under this employment act EMERGENCY he would like to see a survey taken of the people who have EMPLOYMENT public sewer available and who are not connected to it. He said the law states that people must connect to public sewer within a reasonable time after it is available, but no one ever checks this out. Mr. Heustis called the Boards attention to the article on this Emergency Employment Act published in the Minute Man last week. The Town has put in for a few positions such as personell administrator, management system analyst, administrative ser- vices specialists and a number of other positions not health oriented. The complaint regarding the odor from Dunkin Donuts was discussed by the Board. Mr. Heustis explained that an inspection was made and it was discovered that the filters being used ih- DUNKIN the exhaust system did not meet the specifications which the DONUTS State Health Department recommended. It was agreed that the charcoal filters now used did lose their effectiveness and should be changed frequently. Mr. Heustis was instructed to check this shop frequently to be sure they were using the proper equipment in the filter systems. Mr. Heustis reported that the sewer work for Banks Avenue, which was approved at Town Meeting 18 months ago. has still BANKS not been done. Officer King has been pumping out his cesspool AVENUE trying to abate the nuisance but the situation is very bad. Mr. Heustis went on to say that when he asks about this con- tract he is told it either isn't awarded or as right now they are waiting for an insurance bond from the contractor. The Board wondered if the conditions didn't warrent our asking for immediate action on this sewer line. The members felt that if they were charged to protect the Health of the Town then it was their duty in a situation of this nature to see that it was corrected immediately. Mr. Heustis recalled to the Board the letter received from Mr. Cataldo, Chairman, which stated the Board of Health could recommend sewer installations but the final say would be that of the Board of Selectmen. He recalled that Mr. McQuillan used to say "how can we take an individual to court when the Town itself is in so many health violations, such as the pumping station and the Sanitary Land Fill". Another problem area that is in the same situation as Banks Avenue, is McQueen's house on Outlook Drive. Dr. Cosgrove said he flet that if the history of these areas were presented to Mr. O'Connell he would check them out. He said he felt Mr. O'Connell was very reasonable. Mr. Lambie said he felt that as budget time was coming up a meeting with Mr. O'Connell would be a good idea, especially 416 if the State was going to require extensive work at the Land Fill and also if a survey, which is being made of the Shaw - sheen River, proved that a great deal of the contamination to the river was coming from the Lexington pumping station and land fill area. He went on to say he felt this was the time to make the Town Manager and Selectmen aware of these problems and not wait until we had to tell them one day and expect them to be corrected the next. All these new State Regulations, if they must be enforced, will be a great financial inconvenience to the Towns. It was agreed that Mr. Heustis request a meeting with Mr. O'Connell to discuss the various health problems which are of importance now and which will have an affect to the Town in the coming year. The job description of the Animal Inspector was dis- cussed by the Board. Mr. Heustis said there had been questions raised re- garding the treatment of unidentified injured animals. Dr. Ellicott asked if there were a great many of these incidents and the answer was "No". Dr. Ellicott suggested that Dr. Smith, as Town Veterinarian, could administer what could be classified as compassionate care and then the Dog Officer or the Police could endeavor to locate the owner. He recommended that Mr. Heustis write Dr. Smith and suggest that he keep records of the number and the cost of these animals so that the Board could get a better idea cf the problem. The copy of the letter to the Sheraton Motor Inn from the SHERATON State Health Department was discussed. The State Health MOTOR Department Sanitary Engineer was of the opinion that a grease INN build-up and the disposal of shells into the disposal caused the back-up or over -flow in the sewage system at the Motel. They suggested a grease trap be installed in the kitchen line which would store approximately one days average flow. Mr. Heustis said that the Sheraton had requested an extension of time before installing the grease trap to see if the alarm system previously installed at the first man hole might be just as effective as the grease trap. The correspondence regarding the People's Coalition March on August 6th was checked and placed on file. The half year report for Mystic Valley Mental Health Clinic was discussed by the Board. The Board after some MYSTIC discussion agreed that Mr. Heustis should confer with Mr. VALLEY O'Connell regarding the type of budget figures the Town would MENTAL like from the clinic. They suggested that he request a HEALTH member of Mr. Perry's staff sit down with the people at the Clinic and explain exactly what the Town Officials want in Budget figures. The Health Officer's Report was reviewed and other than the First National Store the milk counts were very good. CZ 1 1 1 P