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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-12-09302 BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING DECEMBER 9, 1981 The regular meeting of the Board of Health was held Wednesday, December 9, 1981 at 7:15 p.m. in the Recreation Office (G-1) of the Town Office Building. Members present were: Mr. James W. Lambie, Chairman; Michael S. Erdos, M.D., Linda Roemer, Ph.D. and George A. Smith, Director of Public Health. There was a change in the minutes of the November 9, 1981 meeting notes on page 3, paragraph eleven in regard to "the fees charged for permits a licenses issued by the Board of Health". Dr. Roemer had said "We should look at all the fees at one time this year. The present fees do not even pay for the clerical help". Mr. Smith said some of the fees have to be submitted to Town Meeting for approval. The Board discussed the new schedule sheet for the blood pressure reading clinic. There is a new clinic added once a month at the Council on Aging site. This clinic will be from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. the first Thursday of each month. This 1st. Thursday is the day of the congregate meals and they figure they will get more people at the blood pressure clinic at this time. Mr. Smith told the Board that he is having some larger size blood pressure cards made up. They will also have larger print because the current cards are rather difficult for the elderly to read. Dr. Erdos asked if the visiting nurses kept track of the number of people using these blood pressure clinics. Mr. Smith answered that they kept track of each clinic. Mr. Smith said that the headlice are still somewhat a problem in the schools. He received two calls from parents last week. He has talked to Dr. Monderer over at the School Administration Office. Mr. Smith asked him if they needed any help with the head lice problem as he had been talking to the State Health Office and they offered to send out a couple of their nurses to lend a hand, by going through the children's heads. Mr. Smith told the Board the schools would never go for that idea. Dr. Erdos wanted to know if the schools sent letters home to the parents telling them of this problem? Mr. Smith said, "Yes, every school did that this year". Mr. Smith told the Board that some parents don't want to use the shampoo because it has pesticides in it but they cannot get the children back into the schools with the nits in their heads. Dr. Roemer said she is concerned with the problem. She said if the parents won't use the shampoo on their children, it puts other children at a risk. 1 1 3o Mr. Smith said it is a problem that has to be solved by the schools and the school nurses. What sometimes makes it difficult is that a nurse is not at the same school all day. Mr. Lambie said there has to be some point where the Board has to be concerned. Mr. Smith said the problem has subsided a little. There were only two calls last week. Mr. Smith told the Board that a letter came into the office this week from Lisa Fitzgerald requesting again to keep six horses on her property. Dr. Roemer said that Lisa Fitzgerald had mailed her a copy of a letter FITZGERALD that she had sent to the Board of Health last July. ANIMAL PERMIT Mr. Smith read the current letter from Lisa Fitzgerald to the Board. He said he just cannot see Lisa coming in again trying for six horses. She stated that others had more horses on less land than the regulations re- quire but Mr. Smith said that these permits are under the "grandfather" clause. Mr. Lambie said he thought she had a permit through April 1982 for four horses. Mr. Smith said that she does have a permit for four horses. He told the Board she wanted to come into tonight's meeting to request the two extra horses. He said he felt that she should not come in tonight as he wanted to have time to discuss her current letter with the Board. He said she should have understood the letter of November 9, 1981 that we sent. It said: "The Board of Health has reviewed the status of your current tem- porary permit to keep four horses at 342 Bedford Street". "Considering the requirements of our regulations and the amount of land currently owned by you, the Board has unanimously voted to grant you a pemit to keep four horses on your 342 Bedford Street property. Three, as allowed under the requirements of Board of Health Regulations and a fourth by virtue of a variance of those regulations granted by this Board". "As with all permits issued by this Board, this permit is subject to revoca- tion and/or suspension for cause". Dr. Erdos said the Fitzgerald's did not comply with the Board of Health's decision all summer when they had six horses on their property and they only had a permit for four horses. The Board does not want the Fitzgerald's into the next meeting. They said her permit now is good until April of 1982. Mr. Smith said he will write another letter to the Fitzgerald's stating that ANIMAL only four horses are to be kept on the property. INSPECTIONS Mr. Smith reported to the Board that he spections with the Town Manager. Barry but with his suspension, we have no one He said some of the problems we have to had been discussing the animal in - Littleton was the animal inspector at this time to go out on inspections, go back to when Barry was doing the inspections. He was not forceful, he would say one thing about the premises 304 or whether they should be allowed animals and when he came into Board Meeting he would say something differently. Mr. Smith talked to the Town Manager about having a part-time sanitarian that could also do the animal inspections, and pay them a little more than the last sanitarian was paid to do the added inspections. Mr. Smith told the Board that they wanted to make him the dog hearing officer at the dog hearings but he said the law requires it has to be one of the selectmen. COCKROACH The Board asked how the cockroach problem is being solved in the restaurants, PROBLEM IN Peking Garden, Bora Bora, etc. RESTUARANTS Mr. Smith said that they have had exterminators come in to take care of the problem. They are keeping the problem under control. Dr. Erdos said he is all for putting restaurant inspection results in the newspapers. When they know that, perhaps the owners will shape up. It only takes one restaurant to be closed to have the others stay on their toes. ODOR Mr. Smith reported that he had received several complaints from Ingalls, COMPLAINTS Andersons Jewelers and the Liquor store about the food odor in their stores GUENTHERS coming from Guenther's Restaurant. Guenther put his filters on the foof and the intake from the other stores is bring the odors into their stores. Guenther's cooks with a lot of garlic and the odors are strong in the other stores. Peter DiMatteo, Building Commissioner, is handling the problem presently, but if something isn't done soon, he said he will write Guenther a letter and remove his food service establishment permit. Mr. Smith said that the help at Guenther's has also been washing the floors with a "squeegy" mop and pushing the water right out the back door and into the drain. Mr. Smith said that he put a stop to that. Dr. Roemer said that "down town" at Depot Square and behind the Peking Garden reeks of chinese cooking. Mr. Smith said that is because of the filters that are used at the Peking Garden and Yangtze River Restaurants. The restaurant owners wanted to install higher filters but the Historical Society would not allow either of them to do this. Had this been allowed, there would not be this problem. Mr. Smith said that at the two chinese restaurants, the odor is outside of the restaurants but with Guenther's it is being filtered/ventilated into the interior of the other sotres. Dr. Roemer asked if the outages in Town during the storm had created any problems for the Board of Health. Mr. Smith answered, "No problems at all". Mr. Smith told the Board that Mr. Ralph Cataldo of Bow Street had applied for his yearly letter for his agricultural program for filling in his land. 305 He thinks the Board should have him come in to Board Meeting before they sign the letter to find out what his intentions are for the future. The filling seems to be almost completed, Mr. Smith said. The Town of Arling- MR. CATALDO'S ton brings their fill up to Cataldo's Farm. LETTER Mr. Cataldo's 3 -year permit will be up next year. He needs a yearly letter from the Board of Health for the Army Engineers. The Board agreed to invite Mr. Cataldo into the next Board Meeting. Dr. Roemer asked Mr. Smith if the Board members should take a look at the property down there. Mr. Smith thought it would be a good idea. He told Dr. Roemer she could come into the office and go through Mr. Cataldo's file at any time to familiarize herself with the situation. Mr. Smith said he wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Cataldo eventually will build condominiums down there. If he does, the Conservation Commission will make him have a retention pond. Dr. Erdos asked if the Board adopted the animal regulations they discussed MISCELLANEOUS last month. Mr. Smith said, "No, he wanted to get together with Mr. Lambie, but he hasn't had the time". Mr. Smith informed the Board that "bake sales" are now legal. He said that he had been trying to contact Mr. Rollins of Grove Street, but has not been successful. Mr. Smith briefly talked about earth removal. He said they were trying to bring in dirt from the Red Line project to Ricci's farm. They have found the dirt is filled with naptha and some workers have become ill. This was not allowed to be brought into Town. Mr. Lambie discussed an operational sheet he had been "playing around" with, about what objectives the Board of Health has, what they can do in general, setting criteria, what the real priorities of the Board are, etc. Mr. Smith said a new manual has come out from the State telling all about what Boards of Health can do, and the new rules and regulations book will be out soon, also. Dr. Roemer said the Board should examine the possible needs of the Town that no one else is doing. She said she is concerned about the large number of people not able to get medical care, cannot afford it, the expense of private medical care for those who cannot afford it and are not eligible for Medicaid. She said FISH takes people to Boston City Hospital from here because some cannot afford the doctors here. Dr. Erdos said he feels if people cannot pay for medical care, the doctors would not refuse to treat them. Mr. Lambie said that this operational sheet is something that he started to put 306 together and it can be discussed at length later. It was voted to have the next regular monthly meeting on January 11, 1982. HAPPY NEW YEAR: The following permits were signed by the Board: Food Service Establishments Belco Vending for Unitrode Corp. East Village Nursing Home 5 Forbes Road 140 Emerson Rd. Brigham's, Inc. Dana Home of Lexington 38 Bedford St. 2027 Mass. Ave. Catch Penny Chalet Motor Lodge Fairlawn Nursing Home, Inc. 440 Bedford St. 265 Lowell St. Lexington House of Pizza (new owner) Pine Crest Nursing Home (Pine Knoll) 399 Lowell St. 30 Watertown St. Carey's Catch Cinema I 46 Mass. Ave. 1794 Mass. Ave. St. Brigid's Church Cinema II 2001 Mass. Ave. 10 Muzzey St. First Parish Church (Unitarian) Temple Isaiah 7 Harrington Rd. 55 Lincoln St. Trinity Covenant Church First Baptist Church 44 Allen Street 1580 Mass. Ave. Sacred Heart Church Church of Our Redeemer 21 Follen Rd. 6 Meriam St. Follen Community Church 755 Mass. Ave. Installer's Permits Pilgrim Congregational Church 55 Coolidge Ave. Suburbanite Cesspool Service, Inc. A. A. Cesspool Co. P.O. Box 448, Lexington, Mass. 89 Willow St., Waltham, Mass. Arlex Oil Corp. Clear -Way Sewer & Drain Co. 275 Mass. Ave., Lexington, Mass. 3 Eliot Rd., Lexington, Mass. Lawrence M. Carroll Deflice Bros. Corp. 753 Waltham St., Lexington, Mass. P.O. Box 170, Lexington, Mass. Electric Sewer Cleaning Co. 294 Lincoln St., Allston, Mass. Sewage Disposal Permits A. A. Cesspool Co. 89 Willow Street, Waltham, Ma. Suburbanite Cesspool Service P.O. Box 448, Lexington, Mass. (4 trucks) Electric Sewer Cleaning Co. P.O. Box 224, 294 Lincoln St. Allston, Mass. (2 trucks) Animal Permits Nathan T. Sidley, M.D. 2 Rogers Rd., Lexington. Ma. Walter L. Williams 344 Lowell St., Lexington, Ma. 1 R. E. Andrews & Co. 20 Highgate Rd., Framingham, Mass. (2 trucks) Rite -Clean Cesspool Service 23 Mohawk Rd., Burlington, Mass. Sewer Man 32 Rio Vista St., Billerica, Mass. Sewer Reamer Service d/b/a W. A. Campbell 81 Newton St., Somerville, Mass.