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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-04-02SMOSKE'S HORSES The following permits were signed by the Board: Food Establishments: Arno's, 321 Woburn St. N. E. Vending for Varian Vacuum Servomation for Hayden Office Trust Bldg. White Hen Pantry Hotel License Battle Green Inn, 1720 Mass Ave. Manufacturing Frozen Dessert White Hen Pantry, Mass. Ave. BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING APRIL 2, 1979 The regular meeting of the Board of Health was held April 2, 1979 at 7.e.00 P. M. in Room G-15 of the Town Office Building. Members present were: Dr. William L. Cosgrove, Chairman; Mr. James Lambie, Dr. Michael S. ]rdos & George A. Smith, Director of Public Health. The complaint from Mrs. Freier regarding Smoske's horses was brought to the attention of the Board. This past month we have received three com- plaints from Mrs. Freier that the horses at Smoske's, 39 Robinson Road were loose and had raced through her yard and those of others in the neighborhood. bir. Smith said Smoske's permit was coming up for renewal this month and he felt another hearing was necessary before the permit was renewed. Mr. Littleton did make an inspection when we received these complaints and he did report that there was evidence of horses being loose and there was some manure around, Mr. Smith said Mr. Smoske still rents the barn to people and he feels that it is the responsibility of the renters to keep the place clean and this does not always work out to the best advantage. The Board instructed the clerk to set up a hearing for the next meeting. PNEUMOCOCCAL The contract for the prices of pneumococcal vaccine made by the State VACCINE Health Department was discussed by the Board. It was agreed that if a clinic of this type was conducted a fee would be charged. If possible a count should be made from the various senior citizen groups, also to see if the vaccine could be obtained on a consignment deal. The Board tabled this matter until Dr. Erdos arrived for further dis- cussion. The requests for permits to keep chickens by two residents were discussed by the Board. One permit was to keep 12 chickens at 2 Paul Revere Rd. and the other to keep 10 chickens at 76 Middle Street. 1 1 1 Mr. Littleton had reported that all facilities and area was satisfactory at 2 Paul Revere Rd. All abutters were notified and only one objection was re- 2 PAUL ceived. Permit was granted. REVERE ROAD Mr. Littleton reported that all facilities and area were okay at 76 Middle Street except that the house next door seemed rather close but these neighbors were in the venture with the owners of the property so the permit was approved. All abuttors have replied and no objection was received. The establishing of a fourth Well Elderly Clinic was again brought up for discussion. Dr. Cosgrove said Mr. Lambie had brought up a good point at the February meeting that another clinic for the Well Elderly put another clinic in the area 4th WELL of the Center of Town. He felt that this would put too many clinics of this ELDERLY type in one area. Dr. Cosgrove went on to say he had been in touch with the CLINIC Red Cross since the re -organization and explained to them that the blood pres- sure clinic conducted in the bank was not a Health Clinic for Well Elderly but a clinic paid for and conducted for the Rotary Club and it was open to all residents. He went on to say that after he explained to the Director of the Red Cross about this clinic he was assured that the clinic would be resumed within a month. Also the list of people that signed the petition that Mrs. Melchear submitted were mostly from the green out to Lowell Street. It covered mostly precints 4, 5, and 6. A clinic to service these people would be more convenient if it was held in the Fiske School. Mr. Lambie said this would not please the Council on Aging. He also said he didn't know as we needed another clinic, he felt he would need a little more study of this group. Dr. Cosgrove said he felt that with four clinics he didn't think we needed another. He said he felt that the Council on Aging was trying to build this thing up and in another year they would be down to the Munroe School and that would be out of the way for people. He went on to say he felt we should wait and see what the Red Cross planned to do. Miss Lisa Fitzgerald came before the Board to discuss her application for a permit to keep 4 horses instead of 3 as in previous years. The Board at FITZGERALD the last meeting felt that because of the lack of responsibility in keeping HORSE PERMIT the horses restrained they would not grant her a permit for 4. Miss Fitzgerald admitted that she did have a problem awhile ago but now she had older girls helping her care for the animals and she had done some work on the corral fences and things were now pretty tight. She also explained that the fourth horse was not a permanent thing, it would only be there once in awhile. Mr. Smith said if this was not a permanent thing he would rather handle it as we have other permit holders. If Lisa would just call us when she ex- pected to bring in a fourth horse and how long she was going to keep it there. After further discussion with Miss Fitzgerald and her father a permit for 3 horses was granted for renewal and she will call the Health Office when ex- tra horses are to be brought in. Miss Fitzgerald thanked the Board and retired. Mr. George Athanadiadis came before the Board to outline his operation at Cheryl's Bakery which he has just purchased. CHERYL'S BAKERY NICKY'S 89 BOW ST. Mr. Smith explained that Mr. Athanasiadis has to go before the Board of Appeals for a special permit in order to carry out the operation he has in mind. He wants to have take out sandwiches and pizza, this will be in ad- dition to the bakery. Mr. Athanasiadis said he planned to install paneling and do some painting he also plans to update the equipment. Mr. Smith said that some improvement had been made in this establishment and he could see no problems. The Board approved Mr. Athanadiadis' plans and thanked him for coming in. Mr. Smith explained that last meeting we had talked about Mr. Galeau- neau, 89 Bow Street, operating a food store in his home in a residential area without permits. Mr. Smith explained to Dr. Cosgrove that a complaint had been received from Christian Academy that pupils were going over to this place and buying soda pop and hamburgers and hot dogs. An inspection was made and showed an areain the basement that was outfitted like a supermarket. Mr. DiMatteo has issued a cease and desist order. Mr. Gar- laneau claimed he had the groceries in his basement because he delivered these products to poeple from his truck. He did have a State Hawkers and Peddlers license. The truck has turned out to be a station wagon but he did apply for a permit to deliver fruits and vegetables but he cannot stock any perishables such as milk, dairy products or eggs. The operation in the basement has been shut down. The only thing we can do now is keep an eye on this. Mr. Smith went on the explain that if these people want to operate this store and etc. they must go before the Board of Appeals, this is not likely. Mr. Smith said he saw no reason why he could not have a mobile food permit. The Board approved this permit. Mr. Smith reported on the complaint of the fumes at the Department of Public Works building. He said he had Mr. Paul simmons from the Depart- ment of Environmental Quality Engineering coming out to take readings and tests. They will also do the same thing at the Hayden Skating Rink but that will have to be someone from Labor and Industries, Hayden does use a gasoline powered zamboni so there could be a problem with caron monoxide there. We will have to wait for these reports. At 7:45 P.M. Mr. John Brucchi came before the Board, once again, relative to his animal permit being transferred with the sale of his prop - JOHN BRUCCHI erty. Mr. Brucchi had met with Town Manager and Town Counsel and they had suggested that the Board grant Mr. Brucchi permission to come before the Board again. Dr. Cosgrove suggested that Mr. Brucchi proceed with his story. Mr. Brucchi said it gave him great pleasure to come before this Board tonight because he now had a "smart attorney" and he did not have to beg from this Board. He said if he had to go to court he would, then proceeded to reiterate the history of his animal permit for the past 31 years. He claimed that Dr. Cosgrove thought himself to be Hitler and Mussolini combined. Mr. Brucchi then went on to state his veteran's record and the fact that he had fought in World War II for freedom. Dr. Cosgrove interrupted at this point and told Mr. Brucchi that the Board was familiar with his War record and also the history of the animal permit, therefore, if Mr. Brucchi had any further complaints he should get on with it. Mr. Brucchi said he had been talking with a "high class" judge and he ex- plained the Board's Rules and Regulations to him regarding animals and this judge said that Dr. Cosgrove was nothing but a dictator. At this point Dr. Erdos requested Mr. Brucchi to get to the point. Mr. Brucchi said the point was that 31 years ago when he bought his farm the Board of Health refused to give him a permit to keep one chicken. One of his abuttors had over a thousand head of pig, 30-49 cows, 6 horses and sheep. At that time he decided to put animals on his place regardless what the Board of Health said. He was then taken to court, record of this is in Concord Court. Dr. Cosgrove requested that Mr. Brucchi stop the history which the Board knew and get to the point. Mr. Brucchi said the other gentlemen of the Board did not know this Dr. Cosgrove did because he made up the rules. The complete Board said they had heard this before and would Mr. Brucchi please get to the point. Mr. Smith explained that the Town Manager and Town Counsel asked that Mr. Brucchi be given a chance to explain to the Board what his difficulty was. Mr. Brucchi said his difficulty was this, why if he sold his property does he have to have a. buyers and sellers purchase agreement and have the new owners come down and be interviewed by the Board of Health, He went on to say if his potential buyer is colored, jewish or a "Guinea" you want to interview him. Dr. Cosgrove said "Oh No" that is ridiculous we did not say any such thing. We have told you time and time again that the animal permit you have is under the "grandfather clause" and as all permits issued by the Board of Health is not transferable. Mr. Brucchi said they wanted to interview the new owners and he had Bill Dailey to prove that. Dr. Cosgrove again said "Oh No" that is not so, the only reason Mr. Brucchi was there was to "shake down" the Board so that we would give him an okay to sell his farm, as he called it, and give the buyers permission to keep the same number of animals he had. Mr. Brucchi said that was so. Dr. Cosgrove said that there was no way that Mr. Brucchi would get per- mission from this Board to transfer his permit, the Board had all voted on this many times and these permits were "Not Transferable", so if that was all Mr. Brucchi was here for he could get his lawyer and take the Board to Court. Mr. Brucchi said he had the Board, because in 1971 the Board passed a ruling which stated that 2 acres was for one horse and after 4 acres it was up to the Board. In 1975 people came down and he has it in black & white, the buyer and seller came down and because Dr. Cosgrove liked the looks of the new buyers the people were granted permission to keep 3 horses on less than 3 acres of land. Dr. Erdos asked if Mr. Brucchi knew the name of these people so he could check this out. Mr. Brucchi said it was up on Grove Street, he had it written down at home but he would call Dr. Erdos and give him the information. He said he never said anything unless he could back it up. Dr. Erdos suggested that Mr. Brucchi call the Health Office and give this information to the Clerk. Mr. Brucchi said he would call in the information. When he talked to his "high class" judge he told him that if the Board had done anything like that they had broken the law and the law was no good. Again Mr. Brucchi asked why a new owner couldn't move in and keep the same amount of animals he had. Dr. Cosgrove said because the regulations of the Board of Health state that permits are not transferable. Dr. Erdos very patiently said the permits were not transferable and Mr. Brucchi was operating under the "grandfather's clause". He went on to say that Mr. Brucchi was allowed to keep that number of animals because the law was passed after Mr. Brucchi had his animal permit. Dr. Erdos said when the property changes hands then the permit is broken. Mr. Brucchi asid that by granting the people on Grove Street that per- mission the Board had broken the law. Dr. Cosgrove said don't argue with him. Mr. Brucchi said to Dr. Cosgrove in a loud voice "you aren't going to be Hitler much longer". Dr. Erdos asked Mr. Brucchi to show the facts of the accusation of the Board breaking the law in black and white. Mr. Brucchi said he would not put anything in writing but he would call and let the Board know the names of the people he was referring to. Mr. Brucchi said his 8 horses were not a public health nuisance and he wanted to know why he couldn't sell his place. Dr. Erdos said that the place being clean was all to his credit, and he could sell his place but the permit would not be transferable. Mr. Brucchi said if that was the case why couldn't he sell his place with the horses. Dr. Erdos said the permit was not transferable and the Board would not know how a new owner would take care of the animals. Mr. Brucchi asked: Why do we have an animal inspector? Dr. Erdos again pointed out that any permit signed by the Board had stamped on it "Not Transferable". Mr. Brucchi agreed but he said Dr. Erdos said how would the new people take care of the animals. Dr. Erdos said he did not say "How would the new owners take care of them, he said "We do not know how the new owners would take care of the an- imals. Mr. Brucchi again said the Board had broken the law by granting a permit to people on Grove Street. Dr. Erdos again asked Mr. Brucchi to send the names of the people to the Clerk. Mr. Brucchi said he didn't need this Board anyway, he had put his children through college by selling livestock so his "fancy judge" said he would be couerdd by Article 801 or 809 (he wasn't sure which) of the State Laws of Mass- achusetts. NOTE: The article referred to was for the sale of livestock. The Board requested that Mr. Brucchi leave because he did not have anything further to object to. Mr. Brucchi again brought up the fees charged for the keeping of animals. Dr. Cosgrove interrupted and said "John, we have been through this many times before, we have heard your complaints and we feel that if you must take us to court you will. Again I say this Board is not stopping you from selling your property, but the animal permit you now hold is not transferable and is being held by you under the grandfather's clause. Mr. Brucchi said he would get what he wanted because the 1971 laws were broken by the Board. After much hassle Mr. Brucchi retired. The Board again discussed the pneumococcal vaccine with Dr. Erdos. Dr. Erdos said he would be in favor of a clinic for this vaccine if the Health Department had the money for it. He said he favored the vaccine for anyone over the age of 65 years of age or chronically ill. He asked if this would be given at no charge. Dr. Cosgrove said "No" they would charge for it to help defray the cost of the clinic. 9 PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINE Mr. Smith then asked the store managers and property owners from the BOW STREET East Lexington area bordering the Bow Street Park to come in and discuss AREA & MASS the problem of rubbish and debris behind the stores along the railroad AVENUE tracks. Ot the twelve people requested to appear before the Board the following came; Mr. Vito Bellino, Bellino's Donut Shop; Mr. Billy Borgionio, Craft Cleaners and Craft Card and Gift Shop; George Caouetti, Kentucky Fried Chicken; Jerry Heisler, Manage of Cumberland Farms; Thomas Shawkey, Supervisor of Cum- berland Farm Stores and Officer Faulkingham of the Lexington Police Department. V Mr. Smith explained to the Board and the gentlemen attending that this hearing was being held because he has had many complaints from people in the area of the Bow Street Park and also from the police, public works and the selectmen regarding the rubbish and debris in this area. He went on to say a lot of this debris could be attributed to the wnter snow and the gen- eral useage of the area. Most of the vocal complaints are about what is not being done. Basically what he wanted most was to get the place cleaned up and to discuss with these gentlemen how they can help keep the area clean. Mr. Smith showed the Board pictures he had taken of the area, one pic- ture of interest was of the dumpster behind Bellino's which was tipped over on the front. Inspection showed that this dumpster had tipped over in this fashion because someone had filled the dumpster with roofing shingles which had been removed from someone's home. Mr. Bellino said he had checked his dimpster many times and found that people in the area were using it to dispose of their household trash. Mr. Caouetti said he had the same problem, he also said he thought the Chinese Restaurant contributed a lot to the problem. Mr. Bellino said he felt the restaurant had contributed a lot to the problem. He went on to say he had tried putting a lock on the kumpster but the people just drove in, broke the lock and put their household trash into the dumpster. Nine times out of ten they do not close these dumpsters and then the wind blows the trash around or they fill the dumpsters so full it spills out on the ground. Everyone agreed that the youths in the park did make a mess with the beer and soft drink cans also the papers from the fast food stores in the area. Officer Faulkingham said he thought it was important that they catch someone. He suggested an off duty policeman might do the trick. Mr. Bellino said if the kids thought they were being watch they would harass the shop owners and managers by breaking store windows, etc. Officer Faulkingham said that when they take a kid's name and report it to the parents they are accused of harassing the kids. The police patrol this area all the time they have 2-3 cars checking all the time. Mr. Smith said he realized it was a very frustrating thing trying to keep the area cleaned. The shop owners said there was an awful lot of beer cans in the little park and the Town had just spent three days cleaning down there. After further discussion by the group it just seemed to lead to the fact that this was a really thankless job. The Board suggested that if the teenagers are comprehended by the police it might help if they are made to clean up the mess instead of going to court. Officer Faulkingham said that might be a good thing to try. Mr. Smith said he thought there had been a law passed within the last 8 months which stated that if people were caught dumping rubbish they could have their driver's license revoked for a week or two.