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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-04-07 P �J4 BOARD MEETING April 7, 1980 BOARD OF HEALTH The regular meeting of the Board of Health was held Monday, April 7, 1980 in room G-15 of the Town Office Building. Those present were Dr. William L. Cosgrove, Chairman; Dr. Michael S. Erdos and Mr. George A. Smith, Director of Public Health Mr Smith explained to the Board that Mrs. Saakvitne of 335 Marrett Road had asked for an appointment with the Board because of an inspection to her property by Mr. Smith and the Building Commissioner, Mr. Peter DiMatteo. There were several violations of the Sanitary Code. The Health Department had received a complaint from one of Mrs. Saakvitne's roomers that there was not sufficient heat in the house Mrs. Saakvitne had been renting rooms to four people and four or more constitutes a "rooming house". Mrs. Saakvitne came before the Board at 7 30 p.m. accompanied by her son, Nicholas L. Saakvitne of 69 Fifthe Ave., New York, New York and her daughter, Karen W. Saakvitne of 10 Varnum Street, Arlington, Mass. Mrs Saakvitne told the Board that she now has 3 roomers only and that is allowed without a permit for a rooming house. Mr. Smith explained that the railings on the front outside porch were all gone and they would have to be replaced. Mrs Saakvitne said that no one used the front steps but both Mr. Smith and Mr DiMatteo said that these railings had to be replaced. It didn't matter that the roomers or family used the back steps there was a chance that other people would use the steps and that was the regulations so it has to be done. Dr Cosgrove said one complaint was that the heat was insufficient and the house was cold What was the thermostate set at? Mrs Saakvitne said it was at 62 at night and she did not turn it up in the daytime because no one was at home. The son again discussed the railings on the house. He said it would spoil the look of the house and asked the Board to waiver the handrail regulation as the house will be sold this summer. No, the Board said. They could not allow that. Regulations have to be enforced. They would have to request a variance but that would be unfair when others have to comply so they should comply also. Mr DiMatteo said there should be a second of egress and this should be done within a couple of weeks. Mr. Smith brought up that there were no locks on the roomers doors. Mrs Saakvitne said it was a friendly house and the roomers did not want locks Mrs Saakvitne was informed that if she had 3 roomers she must put locks on the doors. 9 Mr Smith and Mr DiMatteo also told Mrs. Saakvitne that handrails must be put on from the second floor to the third floor. The son asked what do they do for the railings. Mr. DiMatteo siad that steps more than 36 inches high require railings on both steps to the top of the riser. Dr. Erdos asked if the corrections are not made before must the next family be told that there are violations? They should be informed because of it having been brought to our attention but it may well have been if they were not renting rooms these violations may never have been brought to our attention but because of a complaint from one of the roomers we were made aware of it. There were several violations including (1) violation of the lodging house code, (2) Violation of the heating regulations and (3) the safety code, means of egress, bannisters, the latter containing violations of the sanitary code. The Board was not aware if the town levied fines for these violations The Board voted that Mrs. Saakvitne must be given her immediate attention and that no variance would be granted. Dr. Cosgrove and Mr. Smith said they would give her until the end of the month to complete this. Mr. DiMatteo had one last comment on the woodburning stove in the kitchen. He hopes that they are not using it as it is very faulty and could set the house on fire. He said there is no insulation and it has a loose, shaggy pipe. Mr.s Saakvitne and her son and daughter thanked the Board and Mr DiMatteo and retired. At 8 00 p.m. Mr. Gilbert came before the Board He is the new owner of "Snack- time where Cheryl's Bakery was and recently formerly owned by Christo Contos. "SNACKTIME" Dr. Cosgrove asked him if he had been before the Board of Appeals. Mr. Gilbert said that he had and that they advised him to wait the 20-day period before turning over his money for purchase to the former owner. Dr. Cosgrove asked if he had been given permission to sell pizza. Mr. Gilbert said yes but he would not utilize that at this time. He explained that all food will be prepared on the premises. He also stated that he planned no structural changes at this time. Mr. Gilbert introduced Irene Roumeliotis as his partner in the business and said she will be doing most of the cooking. Dr. Cosgrove wished them luck in their new venture. Mr. Gilbert stated that everyone has been very kind and that he did appreciate it Mr. Smith told Mr. Gilbert that when a place is kept clean he lets people know about it but when there are violations he lets them know faster. Mr. Gilbert and his partner thanked the Board and retired. BATTLEVIEW Mr. Smith said the Battleview subdivision is alright as far as the Board of SUBDIVISION Health goes as sewer and water conditions have been complied with. It now sits before the Conservation Commission as they are not satisfied with drainage. This is a 2 house subdivision. They have gotten an easement from the Temple LINCOLN on Lincoln Street to connect to town sewer. HILL Mr Smith said he had turned down Mike Solik to install septic systems on the lots at an earlier date. KILN BROOK Kiln Brook is building up on Wood Street near the air base. They are putting III additional space and the sewer is being extended up Hartwell Ave Trinity Estates is being built by Ted Freeman. He is putting five or six houses TRINITY that will be right up to the Trinity Church property at Clematis Way. Sanitary ESTATES sewer is being put in this summer and Mr. Freeman is going to pay to bring the sewer up there The sewer project is part of the Allen Street sewer plan The plan has not come to the Health Board as yet Mr Smith said that Frank Smith wants to build up that way on Clematis Way CURBSIDE Mr Smith said that the town has started to discuss the town-wide pickup program PICKUP Dr Erdos asked who establishes the regulations. Mr Smith said in the contract the Board of Health has recommended several items to include who is responsible for picking up broken bags Basically our regulations prescribe how rubbish can be stored Mr Smith said he is working on regulations that aren't completely put together but will have them by the next Board Meeting Dr Erdos asked if they are stringent enough They cover basic requirements, Mr Smith said. It has to be decided what kind of containers to use Will or should they be plastic bags or metal containers. There has to be some kind of basic guide-lines to use The dogs that tear at bags will be a problem as they tear them apart and string garbage everywhere Dr Cosgrove said there are plenty dogs running around now tearing at the trash He said that B F I, will have the contract He also stated that the public has to be educated about this program. Dr Erdos asked if they will pick up at condominums. Mr Smith said he doesn't think so They have their own dumpsters in those compleBes 1 They won't pick up at stores, markets or industrial business, either I Mr Smith reported that everything is going along well with the rabies clinic plans, Licensing is going along well and our cards will be mailed out in May. RABIES CLINIC The new vaccine will be a three year vaccine. Mr Smith reported that we are in the same process as other years as far as Patriots Day goes We are in the process of issuing permits for all food PATRIOTS DAY stands and he has contacted other boards of health for an inspection sheet for any mobile servers that get food in other areas It will not be like the bicentennial year. Church kitchens have been inspected. Most of these are kept in excellent condition. Sandy Gabriel has been a great help in doing some of these inspections and taking the burden off of me Mr Smith reported that the date of April 1st. had been set up for the new CHOKE SAVER regulations to go into effect but he understands now they have moved the date COURSE up until July 1st. for the choke saver rules. Every restaurant with a seating capacity of 25 persons or more have been told that at least one person on the premises must know the Heimlich method. Anne Scigliano had a session at Symmes and some Lexington restaurant owners went to that - our own course will be on May 12th. Beth Phinney of the Red Cross is also giving a course The month of March is child immunization month A letter from the Governor LETTER FROM was received commending the local boards of health for their efforts GOVERNOR A letter was received from the supervisor of the Lexington Friends Community LEXINGTON Center on Forest Street FRIENDS COMMUNITY She was requesting an inspection This residence has been there since 1972 RESIDENCE and no one in this Department had known it was there. They were requesting an inspection also from the building inspectors and the Fire Department , Mr Smith said the Recreation Committee is discussing the possibility that the TOWN POOL sanitary facilities for the new town pool complex will not be ready for the opening date Dr Cosgrove said they would have to ask for a variance. Mr Smith said he felt that everything has to be ready including the bathhouse and the sanitary facilities Dr Cosgrove asked if Mr Smith had received anything in writing as yet. Mr Smith said no but it doesn't look like it will be ready to open at this point. HEALTH Mr Smith reported the Symmes Hospital is holding a health fair in Cary Hall FAIR on May 3, 1980 There will be several screening programs including diabetes, blood pressure readings and many more health programs for the public Dr Cosgrove said that the Glaucoma Clinic and the Hard of Hearing Clinic should have been combined with the Health Fair Mr Smith told the Board that the Town Manager had written to Ann Scigliano telling her to correlgate the fair with him (Mr Smith) The Board agreed it was a good idea to have this health fair RABIES Mr Smith brought up the rabies clinic. He asked permission to have a visiting CLINIC nurse there to help the Vet fill the syringes NURSE The Board agred to this LINCOLN Two weeks ago we received a call from an employee of Lincoln Lab, complaining LAB about the cafeteria, Mr Smith told the Board. Mr. Smith said when he first CAFETERIA came to Lexington, he had received calls about this cafeteria but he was told by Hanscom Air Base that the facilities were under the Federal Government The Veterinarian Food Service Officer received a complaint recently but refused to touch it It was referred to the Federal Food Service and in turn turned over to the State Health Department. The State sent out inspectors to inspect it and they in turn came to the local Board of Health. They told Mr Smith that the place was the "pits". It was so filthy and had not been inspected in 23 years since it opened. It is in a building owned by the Federal Government and they own the equipment but is run by Seilers Caterers. After the State was here, Mr Smith received a call from the Federal Government asking what the problem was Mr Smith told the inspector that this Department would be glad to inspect and license the cafeteria but he would need a letter from the federal government authorizing him to do so Mr Smith told the Board that Bedford does license and inspect any kitchen on the base that is located in Bedford. Dr Erdos asked if Mr Smith has ever been up there recently and he said he had never been there Mr Smith told the Board that the State will monitor it until the letter from the Federal Government comes to this Department Dr Erdos asked if they have any violations and Mr. Smith told him one of the big ones is the cockroaches. When Mr Smith receives the letter he will give the facilities a good inspection and have them licensed under this Department as Bedford does Dr Cosgrove discussed the report that was produced by the "Mosquito Control MOSQUITO Committee". He said if they could prove the danger in the pesticides they CONTROL claim, he would go along with it but they can show no proof of it SURVEY Mr Smith said there would always be the same problem - their experts against ours They discussed that East Middlesex has 30 years of experience and have not had any adverse affects. Mr Smith said that mosquito control is a very technical area It is not an erad- ication program, just control of the mosquito population Dr Cosgrove said that the survey showed they made statements that were unfounded The report is so full of error, said Mr Smith. He said that Mr Mazerall MAY DECLARED disagreed with the contents of the report so they just took their names off HYPERTENSION of the report and didn't acknowledge that they were even on the committee MONTH Mr Smith reported that May is proclaimed "Hypertension Month" by the State. Dr Erdos has agreed to write an article for the Board and the Board of Health will promote hypertension this month. The Lion's Club wants to do a diabetes and hypertension clinic combined with the Glaucoma Clinic Dr. Cosgrove said that between all the elderly clinics and the blood pressure clinics at the bank that is at least 5 clinics a month Dr Erdos said that you need more He said the elderly already go and they know that they have high-blood pressure and most are on medication. The age group that should be checked, he said, are people in their 30, 40 or 50 years Some are unaware that they have hypertension. The first phase is to get them to go to one of the clinics, the second phase is to see that they follow-up on this and see a physician He said letters should be sent to the physicians asking if they would be willing to take on new patients and if they could be referred to when someone is found to have hypertension. There should also be a lot of publicity to encourage this group to have the blood pressure checked during the month of May. Dr Cosgrove was checking John Brucchi's animal permit. He asked if John has ANIMAL always had sheep on his permit PERMITS Mr Smith said yes, that he applies for the same animals each year. He asked about Delfino Dr Cosgrove wanted to know if the horses had always been kept at 94 Reed St Mr. Smith told him that the animals were always kept at 94 Reed Street and this permit was just a renewal. Mr. Delfino does not have animals at the present time and asked to have the permit renewed although he doesn't know when he will get any more horses The permit will be renewed this year but if he continues to get it without horses on the premises it could be revoked by the Board. Mr Smith reported that he had received a letter from Howard Reynolds, Attorney for Mrs Smoske He was inquiring about the revoking of Mrs Smoske's permit to keep animals at 39 Robinson Road Mr Smith told the Board that he had discussed this with Mr Lambie recently and he was for keeping the permit revoked and then let them apply in another year as the Board had previously agreed to The Board discussed that one of the terms that the Smoske's could re-apply for a permit was to have all abuttors agree to this but the Freier's have not come in or sent a letter stating that it would be agreeable to them. The Board voted unanimously to keep the permit revoked at least for one year Dr. Erdos told the Board that he has a patient that had been bitten by CAT BITE a cat that appeared rapid and he is treating her with gamma globulin and a vaccine for rabies He said the bite had become infected He told the Board that he had been advised by the hospital that the county would pay for the vaccine through the local Board of Health. He said this vaccine would approximately be $70 Mr Smith said this is a law that is not used very often He would look into it tomorrow NURSE FOR Mr Smith told the Board that the Lions Club would like to have a nurse GLAUCOMA at their Glaucoma Clinic to be held in May CLINIC The Board agreed to along with that. He said there was money in the budget to cover this Meeting adjourned