Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1974-09-09524 Disease Visits, T.B. Visits, etc. This must be broken down with more explanations than it has been in the past. The funds for the other things will be paid as they are held, for example - Flu clinic will be paid for when held, Well Elderly Clinic will be paid as held, and the Town Meeting money will be paid as the Education Programs are held. Mrs. Tapier has been informed of this new way of billing. The following permits were signed by the Board: Animal permits Paul B. Lloyd, 292 Cedar Street, 3 horses William F. Mason, Jr., 904 Massachusetts Ave., 1 pony Food Services Peking Gardens, 27 Waltham Street Alexander's Pizza Shop, Bedford Street Disposal Works Permit Joseph Rando Backhoe Service Pool Permits Living & Learning School, Maple Street Battle Green Inn, Massachusetts Avenue BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING SEPTEMBER 9, 1974 The regular meeting of the Board of Health was held Mon- day, September 9, 1974 at 7:00 P.M. in Room G-15. Members present were: Dr. William Cosgrove, Chairman; Mr. James Lambie, Dr. Charles Ellicott and George A. Smith, Director of Public Health. The minutes of the meeting held July 1, 1974, were ap- proved as read. The application for a permit to keep 10 horses L. Freeman, at 83 Cary Avenue, Lexington, Mass. was HORSES by the Board. 83 Cary Ave. Dr. Cosgrove and Mr. Smith explained that Mr. been keeping horses at 83 Cary Avenue for about 10 out a permit. by Theodore discussed Freeman has months with - Mr. Smith explained that when he and Dr. Cosgrove went over to inspect this area it was in a very unsanitary condi- tion and there was 13 or 14 horses on the premises. Mr. Smith went on to say he has been over two or three times since then and they have cleaned the place up a little but if this permit is granted Mr. Freeman will have to be very careful to keep the place clean and do some repair work on the corrals and the excerise ring. Replies from the cards sent ning about half and half. There horses getting loose and running out to the abuttors are run - are some objections to the across people's lawns. Dr. Ellicott asked how we found out about the horses over 1 1 1 1 1 1 there in the first place. Dr. Cosgrove said he saw an ad in the paper with a phone number which he called and when he received no answer he did get in the car and drive over because we had been told that there was still horses at the Kelley Farm. The house on the property has been rented but the people have nothing to do with the horses. Dr. Cosgrove said he told the lady that was living in the house to tell Mr. Freeman he must have a permit to keep horses. Dr. Ellicott said if we grant this permit we will be deal- ing with an absentee landlord and therefore we should be sure that the owner is aware that he will be responsible for the care of this property. Dr. Ellicott also asked how many cards had been sent out to abuttors. and the It was reported that 41 cards had been sent to the abuttors the replies were: 19 did not object and 14 did object to keeping of horses. Mr. Smith said to his knowledge that none of these objectors had ever called the office to complain about the conditions at the stables. The inspection today showed that it was cleaner than it had been. He went on to say that right now it appeared that Mr. Freeman was trying to satisfy our requirements and he would advise the Board to consider a temporary permit of about 2 months which would take it through the fly season. Also in 2 months we could get a good idea how Mr. Freeman would run this operation. The Board agreed to a 2 month temporary permit being issued to Mr. Freeman with the understanding that the corrals and ex- cersise rings were made secure. Mr. Smith reported that he had been inspecting Smoske's stable on Robinson Road and they had cleaned the place up and added an electric fence. There have been no complaints from the neighbors in that area for some time. At the last in- spection Mrs. Smoske said they had got rid of all the horses and would not be having any for awhile. This will be a new permit when she does decide to keep horses again. The renewal application to keep horses by Ralph Frissore, 92 Blossomcrest Road was discussed. It was explained that since Mr. Frissore►s original permit to keep 2 horses at this address in 1970 he had increased the number of horses each year until now he was asking for 6 horses. Mr. Frissore has one and one-half acres of land and a letter on file from Mr. Ray Howland, Jr., granting him permission to use a few acres of his land which abutts Mr. Frissore's property. Mr. Smith said he had not been over to inspect this but to date we had no complaints. The Board asked if the abuttors had been notified when these animals had been increased and was told No. 2rz . �. SMOSKE HORSES R OBI NS ON ROAD r"HISSORE HORSES 92 Blossom - area crest St. 526 Dr. Ellicott suggested that cards be sent to the abuttors and also Mr. Frissore should be required to submit a plot plan and a statement of the amount of acreage he is using which be- longs to Mr. Howland. When this information is received a maximum number will be set by the Board and Mr. Frissore will be notified that he will have just that many and no more. Mr. Lambie said that Mr. Frissore's permit should be held until we have on file a plot plan and replies from all abuttors. Dr. Cosgrove explained that he had received a number of THYME FARM complaints regarding excessive flies, odor and dust at the 74 NORTH ST. Davis stable on North Street. He said he was very surprised because we had never received any complaints before. He went on to say that he and Mr. Smith had been over the property many times since July. Mr. Smith reported that a petition had been filed with the Planning Board regarding the renting of stable space and they felt that the Davis's were running a business. Mr. Smith explained that this would not concern the Board but the sanitary condition of the place would. He went on to ex- plain that the problems at the Davis Farm are basically poor housekeeping. He did see one rat but at this point he did not feel there was any amount of rats over there. Flies and manure have been very excessive since July. An inspection today showed some improvement but there was still a pile of manure that had not been removed. Mr. Smith said that Mrs. Davis had mentioned a manure pit but this would have to be handled according to our reg- ulations. At Dr. Ellicott's request the Clerk read the manure regulations. Dr. Cosgrove asked if the manure was disposed of properly would it eliminate the fly problem. Mr. Smith said that the rodent problem was insignificant but the problem still remained that the trouble with the place was just poor housekeeping. Mrs. Davis, owner of Thyme Farm, asked if she plain some of the problems to the Board of Health. was granted. Mrs. Davis had attended this meeting private citizen, this meeting was not a hearing on uation. might ex - Permission as a this sit - Mrs. Davis explained that she had hired a young couple to look after the barn and keep the place clean but they be- lieved in everything being natural and therefore would not use any of the sprays she bought for the flies and etc. A landscape gardner was supposed to pick up the manure but he had not been using a great deal of it this year and therefore unless she had about a truck full of manure the man did not come and pick it up. 1 1 1 '21 Mrs. Davis went on to explain that up until about 2 years ago they always spread the manure on the different grazing areas which made the grass grow good and therefore eliminated the dust problem which had been experienced this year. She explained that the manure had been handled this way for the past 10 years and they had never had any complaints. Mr. Smith said he did not think the dust was excessive he felt that the problem was poor housekeeping. If this place is cleaned up and kept clean it would solve the problem as far as the Board of Health is concerned. Dr. Cosgrove asked Mrs. Davis if there was a possibility of having a buffer zone between the farm and the Lawrence's property. Mrs. Davis said there was about 30 feet between the property line and the pasture fence. Mrs. Davis again said they would like to pit the manure and then in the Spring she would have it spread and seed the area which had been so dusty this year. Mr. Smith did say that the manure should not be spread wet because it would only aggravate the fly problem. Letters regarding this operation was read to the Board and then placed on file. The Board agreed that if the housekeeping in the stable and the pasture was improved the permit will be allowed to continue. Mr. Smith will keep checking this area. Mr. Frank Totman, President of the L.V.N.A. Board, and Mrs. Jane Tapier, Director of the L.V.N.A. staff, came before the Board to discuss the present budget for the L.V.N.A. Dr. Cosgrove explained that this Budget must be straight- L.V.N.A. ened out. He went on to explain that when the Well Elderly BUDGET Clinic was started Mr. Totman had agreed at a fugure of $7.50 per hour or 4 nursing hours at $30.00 dollars. After the first few clinics the L.V.N.A. started talking $10.00 per hour. Dr. Cosgrove went on to say that as the Trustees of Public Trusts had paid the L.V.N.A. $1500. in one sum he figured that where the clinic hours had been cut down that there was still some of these funds left to start this year and in checking with Mr. O'Connell, Town Manager and Mr. Cohen, Town Counsel sug- gested that some negotiation must be made regarding the excess funds. Mrs. Tapier gave the Board members a report of the Well Elderly Clinic to date. In this report she has charged the Board with 149 hours, the Clerk of the Health Department had figured only 133 hours. Mrs. Tapier had charged 10 dollars per hour making a total of $1490. used from the original monies from the Board of Public Trusts. Dr. Cosgrove explained that we should agree on the hours. After a short discussion regarding the hours it was agreed that Mrs. Tapier and Mrs. Jones would get together and go over 528 the hours. Dr. Cosgrove said Mr. Totman had quoted $7.50 per hour but now these figures are all based on a $10.00 per hour figure when this money was requested the price of $7.50 was quoted so he felt that at least the first two clinics would have to be charged at $7.50 per hour, in fact, he went on to say he would insist that that be done. He went on to say that if they went to the $10.00 per hour after that he would not object. Also, this clinic started out with two -two hour clinics per week; then it was cut down to 3 hours and now it is cut down to 2 hour clinics on the first and third Thursday at Greeley Village and the second and fourth Tuesday at Vynebrook Village. Dr. Cosgrove said he was not complaining about the cuts in the hours but he did feel that some negotiation should be done on the money received. Mr. Totman said the money had been deposited in one lump sum and then drawn out as the clinics were held. Dr. Cosgrove said that part was all right but he just felt that to date by his figuring the $1500. 00 had not been completely used and we should have a credit that would go into the next fiscal year. After further discussion regarding the hours and cost it was agreed that Mrs. Tapier and Mrs. Jones, Clerk of the Board of Health, would get together and go over the hours. It was also explained to Mr. Totman that in the coming budget the $518. amount voted at Town Meeting must be used for educational programs because that is what he requested when he made his motion. Mr. Totman said he would like a contract drawn up and instructed Mrs. Tapier to do this. Mrs. Tapier thought if she could get this information down in a letter and have a letter in reply from the Board of Health that would be enough of a contract. 1 1 Mr. Totman and Mrs. Tapier retired. Mr. Smith said he wanted to make the Board aware of the Dog Officer operation which had been placed under the DOG Health Department a few years ago. He went on to explain OFFICER that this operation does take up a great deal of his time therefore, he is not able to spend as much time on Health work as he would like to and should. He went on to say he had discussed this with Mr. O'Connell but he wanted the Board to realize the problem too. The Dog Officer seems to require a great deal of super- vision but hopefully that will smooth out as time goes on. Mr. Smith went on to say that he thought the Board should be aware of the Dog Kennel where the dogs are kept because it really was in very bad condition. 1 529 Mrs. Jones, Clerk, stated that at least one-fourth of the office staffs time is being spent on Dog Officer work. Mr. Smith said he was just reporting this so the Board would be aware of the time spent on problems other than Health. Dr. Ellicott said he thought maybe the Board should take an active interest in this if so much of the Health Department's staff time is being spent on it. He also said he would like to check the kennel and maybe if the Board wrote a letter of concern some- thing might be done to improve the condition. Mr. Smith explained to the Board that the septic system at 9S2 Waltham Street was installed by John Brucchi, Lexington 952 Sewerage Co. He went on to explain that this lot was approved WALTHAM ST. by Mr. Lucas for building in April of 1974 (before Mr. Smith came to work here) the system was designed and approved at that time with the house placed approximately 60 feet back from the street line. At the time of the initial inspection it was noted that the house had been relocated and the septic system was not being installed in accordance with the approved plan. Because of the relocation of the house certain basic re- quirements for the system had to be changed. Minimum distances from the building could not be met and the water services had to be relocated. The area which could have served as an expansion area is no longer available. The installer has changed the lay- out of the leach bed from three laterals to five radiating lines like the spokes of a wheel. After the system was covered and landscaped it was discovered that the foundation drain around the structure hadbeen laid horseshoe fashion and stops in the approximate area of the leaching bed. Mr. Smith said he felt the system was marginal and he would like to recommend to the Board that in the future any system installed so dramatically from an approved plan be disapproved. The Board told Mr. Smith that if a situation like this occurs again he should not approve the system until the builder submits new and approved plans. Mr. Smith reported that he had conducted coliform tests on well water for the home of Robert Rushton, 29 Marrett St., and found coliform counts above the allowable number for drinking water. He explained that this is a dug well and 29 MARRETT not too well protected. He has suggested to Mr. Rushton to STREET talk to Public Works about being connected to Town water, to also treat this well with chemicals and to also check into having a well driven. The Town water supply does go within about 200 feet of his home to service the Air Base but at the present time Mr. Rushton has not informed us what he intends to do. He is checking with the Selectmen about the water line from the Air Base. The Board voted to extend the Day Care Center Permits DAY CARE until November 1, 1974, at which time the Office for Children CENTERS will take over the licensing and inspection procedure for these establishments.