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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-05-05 BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING MAY 5, 1980 ' The regular meeting of the Board of Health was held Monday, May 5, 1980 in Room G-15 of the Town Office Building Members present were Dr William L Cosgrove, Chairman; Mr James W Lambie, Dr Michael S Erdos and Mr George A Smith, Director of Public Health. Minutes of the last meeting were approved as read. Mr. Smith reported to the Board that during the past several weeks or months we have had a number of oil spills reported, and while these spills are re- OIL quired to be directly reported to the Department of Environmental Quality SPILLS Engineering by the perpetrator, the Board of Health receives complaints from residents and often the Board of Health becomes involved in the clean-up effort Mr. Smith reported that we have had oil/gas spills at Oxbow Trans- portation (Arlex Oil) , Bedford Street, Lexington Gardens, Wilson Farm, a gas spill at the B P. Station in East Lexington and oil spills of several residences DEQE was notified in each case. Along thse same lines, Mr Smith also indicated he was thinking more seriously about doing a town-wide survey of businesses and industries (including gas stations) to see if some type of determination could be made as to how they were disposing of chemical or hazardous waste, etc Having enough time to accomplish this objective is a real problem, Mr Smith said On idea I had was to contact the M.D C on some advice relative to the type of information we should try to collect Coincidentally the M D C is presently in the process of conducting onsite inspections of all industrial establish- ments in Lexington to determine what, if any, hazardous or corrosive wastes are being discharged into the sanitary sewer. Overall they want the discharges, if found to be illegal, stopped or if treatable before discharge, they want to have the materials treated The Board of Health is to receive a copy of each of the inspection reports Mr Smith indicated he would wait until the M D C. completed their inspections before doing any further work on the survey he was contemplating Mr. Smith further stated that the M.D C. survey could take up to 6 months to be completed He said he spoke with John Keating from the Sanitary Engineer- ing Section of the M D C and Mr Robert Dunn, Jr a consulting engineer to the M D C Mr Smith reported to the Board that he had received an analyses report of SODIUM sodium in the Lexington water and that at the present time, it is 9.5 Twenty COUNT is the beginning of the high-count area. Anything over twenty is potentially injurious to people with heart conditions. Mr Smith reported that during the past month, the Wild Acre Inn had a problem WILD with the pump ejector for their septic system. Someone had cut wire off of ACRE the alarm The problem has been solved Mr. Smith said he will be going INN over there this coming week for the monthly inspection Mr Smith told the Board that the plan to install a septic system has been MARRETT completed and approved for Marrett St He is now waiting for it to be sub- STREET mitted by the owner of the property. Mr Francois Morel of 37 Maple Street came before the Board at 7 30 p.m to 37 Maple STREET discuss his malfunctioning cesspool on his property 96 Mr Morel said he has a cesspool that is operating but the leaching area is very slow Mr Smith told Mr Morel that he should connect to Town sewer but Mr. Morel wants to get a variance just enlarge the leaching field Dr Cosgrove said the system was installed in 1949 and it is not a conventional system because it is cement blocks Mr Morel said he is 260 feet away from street to connect but Mr. Smith said the Engineering shows he is 200 feet away from the sewer connection. Mr Morel said that the Great Meadows is behind his property and he feels if he could repair the leaching area his system would function properly. Mr Morel kept insisting that his cesspool was operating properly but Mr. Smith told Mr. Morel that his wife indicated that the system is having problems. Mr Smith said if the Board gives a variance it would have to be more than repairs on the leaching area The system is old and the standards are different today Mr Morel stated that the old fashioned systems that are simple have held up very good. Dr Cosgrove said that the system is antiquated and asked Mr Morel if he planned to use it the way it is. Mr Morel said if he could have a variance to repair the leaching area he would leave the cesspool the way it is. Mr. Morel kept stressing all he wanted was to repair the leaching area. He said he is going to sublet the house for one year and did not want the tenants to have any problems The Board feels it should he a long term septic system and that a sewer connection is a permanent condition. The Board explained that when sewer connection to the Town sewer is available that repairs to a system should not be done. Mr Smith explained if the Board gave a variance he would have to go out to the property when Mr Morel has an engineer there and observe the deep hole testing He has to be there to see the ground conditions and if the ground will accept the affluent from the cesspool Mr Smith told Mr Morel that he does his own digging and repairs without the Board of Health being notified that he will catch him. Mr. Smith said that he has to be there and observe the conditions When he hires an engineer he is to call the Health Department and make an appointment Mr Morel thanked the Board and retired. RABIES Mr Smith told the Board that the new rabies vaccine law had been repealed, CLINIC so instead of having to get the immunization first, we can go back to our own way of having the dog licensed first before rabies clinic. He told the Board that he has been meeting with the staff every week going over the clinic system and the certificates that will be filled out for dog owners. " 7 He reported to the Board that there will be one nurse for the rabies clinic each day to help fill syringes. Two ladies selling dog licenses and four filling out certificates and issuing tags He told the Board that the clinic will be on May 22 and 23 from one to four p m each day Mr Smith reported that not much has changed with the mosquito control group. MOSQUITO He said he received a letter from John Andrews stating Mr. Smith should not make CONTROL any statements in public that Mr Andrews cannot handle. Dr Erdos said the attention this year will be focused on gypsy moths and he doesn't think there will be any mosquito control this year Mr Lambie wanted to know where we stand now on mosquito control in Town It really hasn't gone ahead at all, said Mr. Smith. Is John Andrews the spokesman for mosquito control, a Board Member asked Mr Smith said "yes". He said the Pest Control will be having another meeting and the Board of Selectmen will decide what to do Mr Smith said we will have a "non-program" in this Town Dr Erdos explained to the other Board members the treatment involved and the fees. CAT It will include $200. for the vaccine and the gamma globulin Duck embryo will be BITE given for a period of two weeks I It was brought to Dr. Erdos attention that it will run another $200. beyond that. Dr Erdos said that the physician's fees and the emergency room will be paid by Mrs Hill' s insurance company Dr Cosgrove said that the County will only pay $50 towards this Dr Cosgrove said it is our decision how much we will pay Dr Erdos said it is a contradictory law. Mr Smith said that we cannot pay the total bill. Dr Cosgrove said I agree with you This is a rare case Mr Smith said that Mrs Hill is getting a third party payment. I think the vaccine along should be paid by us The Board voted to put in abeyance the subject of the cat bite payments until all Mrs Hill's bills have been submitted to her insurance company Mr Smith reported that Mrs. Saakvitne had put up handrails on the outside stairs MRS of the house The house was locked up tighter than a drum so it could not be SAAKVITNE checked inside HOUSE I Curbside rubbish pickup was mentioned briefly. Mr. Smith told the Board that RUBBISH the regulations are almost ready to be presented the Board of Selectmen. PICKUP Dr Erdos asked if they are having metal containers or bags? r i 4.1 Mr Smith said they are having 2 mil bags. He said these are heavy enough to put trash out in. He also told the Board that at this time they were considering not haveing trash put out before 5 00 A.M. the day of collection. The collection itself will begin at 7 00 A.M He said that B F.I. takes everything. There will be restriction on the number of bags and containers that can be put out each time. SHERATON- Mr Smith reported that the new General Manager, Mr Jeffrey Brown, of the Sheraton- LEX, Lexington had approached Sandra Gabriel relative to the seasonal poolside food con- POOLSIDE cession He indicated that he wanted to conduct out-of-doors food preparation and FOOD cooking STAND Because of sanitation restrictions and limitations, Mr. Smith stated, his concern about out-of-doors cooking at the Sheraton Mr. Smith indicated he would notify the Sheraton-Lexington of our permit requirement for poolside food service and inform them of our restrictions on this operation Mr Smith reported he inspected the M I T. cafeteria this week and it is the "pits". M.I T CAFETERIA The equipment is old, has been there for years All equipment marked "property of the U S Government" Mr Lambie asked if we have jurisdiction over it Mr Smith said, "yes" It is in Lexington. It is contracted out to the Seiler's Corporation. He said the "D" level cafeteria (down 4 levels) is a brand new kitchen. Mr Smith said we are going to get it cleaned up. They are going to submit a plan to renovate the kitchen It will take four to six weeks to get the plan together and then they will submit it to us. Mr Smith said that cockroaches are a problem all over the building, not only in the cafeteria Mr Smith said that he would like to start charging $3.00 for all temporary food TEMPORARY service permits, not make any "no fee". PERMITS Dr Erdos said why not make them all $5 00? He said it should be $5.00 for every- one The Board voted unamously that the fee is $5 00 for everyone - churches, lodges, etc on one-day temporary permits. ROWE Mr Gerhard Rowe filed for a horse permit as a trustee of the estate at 69 Blossom- ANIMAL crest Road His mother passed away last Fall No one lives in the house at this PERMIT time There is no corral but there seems to be plenty of land. The Board requested that Mr Rowe be invited to the next Board Meeting. Mrs Osgood of 573 Marrett Road applied for a permit to keep a pony. OSGOOD PONY PERMIT Mr Smith said the place is a mess, stable small and there is only 'a acre of land Mr Smith suggested that she be invited into the next Board Meeting. The meeting ended at 9 30 p.m